#constructiontimeagain

At time of writing, Depeche Mode have been going for 4 decades. To my mind, there are 3 clear narrative points in their catalogue - their three most important albums, all huge points of transition for the band. These are far from their best; in fact, two are hugely divisive. I'll now go on about these albums.

It's difficult to imagine what they would have been like if every subsequent album had been like "Speak & Spell", perhaps if Vince Clarke had stuck around. But their longevity is tied to their constant need to adapt; even the band's harshest critics would concur that no album of theirs rings hollow.

So when Vince did leave, those few journalists that hadn't rejected the band outright suspected that his departure, as chief songwriter, essentially finished them off. With "a Broken Frame", their one album between Vince Clarke and alan Wilder, they attempted to adapt. It was a confused album; it was an attempt to replicate the sound of the previous album, with some indication of Martin Gore's style that differentiated it. The lyrics were not peripheral or wilfully inscrutable; they represented a shift in tone that veered towards melancholy, with singles "Leave In Silence" and "See You" great microcosms of this. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else on the album. It was, and remains, a picture of a band in transition.

If the band had continued in this vein, history would've written that they were a moment in time; insubstantial 80s one-hit-wonders trying to recapture their former glory with diminishing returns. Instead, out of necessity, they built on a Broken Frame, shifting away from their past.

With Alan wilder coming on board full-time, the group experimented with their sound, and focused on lyrics that deviated from the matters of love, heartbreak, and having a good time. It's a widely heralded moment for them, and for good reason (although critics were divided at the time, with many reviews mocking the band for their change in tone). However: there is no subtlety about this album, whatsoever. They are at pains to inform you, the listener, that this album is not another Speak and Spell.

The album was preceded by single "Get The Balance Right!", an irritatingly exclamation-marked concession to the need for an obvious single. It's a strange one that has the "Broken Frame" attitude of trying to replicate their past musically, but with lyrics that are too upbeat for that album. It's as throwaway as it was designed to be, with the band awkwardly giving advice for a child over some lovely happy synths. Not good, but it does have a video of the band pissing about in an arcade, so there's something memorable. On the B-Side is the even more irritatingly exclamation-marked "The Great Outdoors!", the first song Wilder himself worked on. It's a shrug-inducing instrumental that sounds nice enough but goes on for 4 minutes too long.

The album begins with Love, In Itself; a brilliant song with Kraftwerk-like synth loops mixed with moments of improvisation. It's a very, very unsubtle statement of intent; the first chorus of the album informs us that "Love's not enough, in itself". More Than a Party is also on the nose, with the titular party used as a metaphor for corruption and inequality. It's also an innovative, harsh-sounding song, with its train samples and changes of speed showing a glimpse of the album's wild experimentation.

Pipeline is one of the most memorable songs on the album, and the most "out there" yet. a slow, droning dirge, filled with samples of random bits from an abandoned building site. On the surface, it's a world away from the joy of their first album. But it's the sound of a band truly having fun; playing with sounds and themes just to see what works.

The first single and most famous song from this album is Everything Counts. There's little to say about this that hasn't been said - it's a fantastic single that also serves as a good introduction to the album, with its innocent lyrics about how capitalism handcuffs those on the lower links of the chain. It's, unfortunately, above and beyond everything else here by far, but it was an important validation that their new direction could introduce depth whilst they could still churn out singles - even if they hadn't really cracked the american market yet.

Next is Two-Minute Warning - it's a marked step down from the previous song but isn't bad in itself. It's also important for being Wilder's first lyrical contribution to the album. Wilder's lyrics are pointed, in an innocently unsubtle way, but also jarring with the rest of the song. The band talk about nuclear war, and the ever-impending possibility of the death of scores of innocent people, being a bad thing. The music is strangely upbeat sounding, but there aren't the layers to it that leaves Everything Counts sounding balanced, rather than odd. Some nice little ideas but not really a complete song.

Shame also follows this pattern. The music is experimental and manages not to sound overjoyed at the prospect of violence or war, but it hasn't much of a structure, never building to anything. In retrospect, it doesn't stand on its own merit - it sounds thematically like a proto-"People are People". Yes, that song isn't well-known for its subtlety either, but it has so many things going for it that it works.

The Landscape is Changing is Wilder's second contribution, and you know what you're getting from that title. It's another warning to humanity, this time regarding our continued disregard for the preservation of Planet Earth. You could make a double album off that concept, and this goes out of its way not to scratch the surface. There's not even a complete hook to it, so it's the definition of okay.

Told You So is pacy yet foreboding, littered with minor key synths, creepy whispers, with banging and creaky synths throughout. It's the grimmest one yet, another warning to humanity about war, violence and divine judgment. There is again the same jarring, unsubtle innocence in its pleas. "Here's one more dead with a hole in his head, he shouldn't have said all the things he said" pretty much sums the song up. It's one of the better songs, overall.

And then... ends on a reservedly positive note, and its probably the best outside of the first 4 songs. After so many warnings, its a sliver of optimism, a plea for humanity to come together. It is another one without a great hook, but it works; the band's always been good with album closers. To cap things off there's a reprise of Everything Counts, the album's best song. I love a good reprise.

Just to touch on the remaining b-sides - they're more of the same. Work Hard is basically Nodisco, but with clanging and terrible lyrics about...working hard. Fools is another bad one, with a little bit of experimentation in the music but nothing else to offer. It's also personal in the vein of a Broken Frame, so would jar a little anyway.

So overall, it's not a great package. It's a collection of new ideas, but also a window of a band in transition. There was a ton of experimentation musically, and an effort to move away from songs based on relationships. It was both a statement of intent in terms of their future plans, but also one that showed they hadn't quite tied up how they were getting there.