Depeche Mode - Spirit

DM, like NO, had access to some pretty $$$ equipment pretty early, iirc, once they moved beyond the DIY kit years. Anyway, I think the synths were almost always used in a pretty punk rock way, as a means for people of limited ability to get maximum results. Though it might have been in that aforementioned doc where Andy McCluskey somewhat defensibly notes that songwriting takes skill and work, even with synths and machines, and that if there was a button on his keyboard that simply said "hit" he'd be pressing it all the time.

xxpost:

The points still remain though, which are: the original crop of synth bands were always updating their equipment with the most up to date technology they could afford, which is why pop music went from being made with Minimoogs and CR-78's to Fairlights and Synclaviers within the space of a few years. The focus was always predominantly on the new - and secondly, that early in their career Depeche Mode were indeed using modulars.

Overall, though, the main reason is by the time The Human League and Depeche Mode arrived using all synthetics, guitar-oriented music was already decades old. Hence why synth music was initially deemed by rockists to be "inauthentic" ...

Personally, I don't really give a fuck what sort of equipment an electronic pop record was made on, as long as the sound design serves the material - I think the idea that an ARP 2500 is more "the real deal" than an Arturia softsynth is pretty silly, given that electronic music in general gets tagged as being inauthentic, even now amongst some.

they added some gear and made an electronic pop album with some guitar and drums

Yes, as a creative decision to keep things fresh (for them) and to prevent themselves from stagnating. Sadly, not everyone sees it that way.

[...] there's an ARP 2600 on Speak & Spell.

In fact, per Daniel Miller, S&S is almost entirely his ARP 2600, right down to the kick drums. I think he pushed them (by which I mean, Vince) into using it exclusively because it sounded so much nicer than the entry-level machines they'd been playing in pubs with. It's easy to overstate the 'synthpunk' aspect to this record - there's some lovely, painstaking sound design to be found throughout, in particular on 'Any Second Now'.
Neat factoid: Miller bought his 2600 second-hand from from an auction of equipment that had previously belonged to Elton John.

I agree, something like 'New Life' isn't really the sound of a bunch of people just turning their synths on and going for it... it sounds like every sound on there has been carefully thought out and it's superbly produced and full sounding. It's nowhere near as "synthpunk" like as Fad Gadget or even Miller's own The Normal single.

Meantime, if you remember this

http://www.avclub.com/article/depeche-mode-singer-calls-richard-spencer-cunt-252075

Full interview that's from:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7723868/depeche-mode-dave-gahan-spirit-politics-interview

Hahahaha! Gahan OTM. Excellent and apt choice of word, too.

Although, it has to be said, the word "cunt" is still quite an offensive term in the UK. Maybe the writer is confusing the UK with Australia.

This is great

Also something I only recently realized -- Martin's family history is well known now, but I hadn't realized that Dave is part Malaysian via his father.

(Which makes Spencer's claim even more of a 'uh...right, dude' situation.)

I didn't realise or even know that either!

Per Wikipedia -- and beyond that, this whole story is kinda fucked up:

Gahan was born as David Callcott into a working-class family, to parents Len Callcott (a bus driver) of Malaysian descent and his wife Sylvia (a conductress or "clippy" on London buses), Dave was only six months old when his father left the family. Sylvia and Len divorced two years later and his mother moved Dave and sister Sue (born 1960) to Basildon, Essex, after Sylvia met and married her second husband Jack Gahan (an administrator with Shell Oil). The Gahan family continued to grow with the birth of two more half-brothers Peter (born 1966) and Phil (born 1968). Dave and Sue were raised under the impression that their mother's second husband, Jack, was their natural father.

In 1972, when Gahan was 10 years old, his stepfather died. Gahan recalled how he "came home one day and found this bloke [his biological father] at home". Of the incident, he has said: "I'll never forget that day. When I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mum's house. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad. I remember I said, that was impossible because my father was dead. How was I supposed to know who that man was? From that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again. Forever this time. Since then he had no contact with us. By growing older, I thought about him more and more. The only thing my mother would say, was that he moved out to Jersey to open a hotel." "Mum had kept it back from me 'til there was a need to tell me about my birth father, it's a different generation and you can understand I guess she thought she was doing the right thing"

So, has anyone actually heard this yet? It's been leaked for days, apparently.

C'mon people, yer letting me down etc.

Yeah I know, I'm mildly surprised there isn't a promo stream somewhere by now. Two days out!

Okay, album just went live on Amazon Music (am listening now) so I'm guessing it's out on the other streaming services too.

First song "Going Backwards" is pretty damn gorgeous as well as darkly compelling. If it's the scene setter for the rest that's a good sign.

yeah the song is not bad at all. it doesn't break the mold of the last few albums, but the drive is there and the trading vocals at the end are nice

Almost done with the full listen -- pretty good overall and I think it'll be a strong grower. "Poorman" might be a sleeper for me in particular, but I think relistens will help make everything even more distinct. Dave's songs this time out are definite winners.

I listened to half of it and Dave's "Cover Me" stood out as a highlight, but nothing really grabbed me so far. I think overall it's about as good as SOTU and better than Delta Machine, which is to say, fine

urgh, way to sell it, guys

Haha but better to underplay expectations, surely? I will say that the whole lyrical theme throughout is definitely indicated by "Where's the Revolution?" -- expressions of regression, exhaustion, frustration, holding on to where/when one can. So credit them for committing to the full.

first song is kind of great and "Where's the Revolution?" works better in context, much like "Heaven" did on Delta Machine (neither was a good single choice IMO)

Yeah I was thinking very much the same -- having "Going Backwards" set up "Where's the Revolution?" is an excellent one-two.

Listening now, and "Cover Me" is lovely. I hope there is more like this and less of the distorto-blues thing.

You mean there isn't a song on this where Gahan goes "*croak*aaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnnggggeeeehhhllll" like he's constipated!?

Ha, yeah, this album is pretty turgid. I listen to albums on shuffle, generally, and the second this one ended a Julianna Barwick track popped on, and before I realized it was her I thought the album had suddenly taken a turn for the interesting.

I haven't heard it yet, but I guess it's not hard to guess what the album sounds like!

Eh, I wouldn't go that far. 6 songs in and it's a good deal more energetic than that "everything is mid-tempo" listenthrough description would lead you to believe. The lyrics are thematically monochromatic with varying levels of success ("Going Backwards" and "Cover Me" are very good at delivering their message; "Where's the Revelution" and "Scum" are... not as good).

If you hate nu-Dave singing, nothing I've heard so far will change your mind.

Slap a "thematically monochromatic" sticker on the cover, because that about sums it up. Can't imagine coming back to this album, sounds like the band could really use a fresh approach, assuming they have it in them.

On the other hand, the subject matter they're tackling in the times we are currently experiencing is worth the attempt. Not sure it's 100% successful but I think it's overstating things to call this album an unbearable slog if you listen to it in order.

It definitely wasn't unbearable, no.

Are there any surprises in the production department?

It sounds a lot more like Playing the Angel than "Where's the Revolution?" would lead you to believe.

You Move is disorienting as hell, btw; whose idea was it to drop a 16th note from third measure of every group of four in the verse?

btw: https://twitter.com/i/live/839261822683226112

currently Martin is singing "Little Soul"

and now "Where's the Revolution?"

it seems he's toned down the use of vocal fry to initiate his vocal lines in live performance, anyway; it's still there but not on every single line like it was circa SOTU

Had to miss that performance, work meetings etc. But I'm sure it'll be around.

On the other hand, the subject matter they're tackling in the times we are currently experiencing is worth the attempt. Not sure it's 100% successful but I think it's overstating things to call this album an unbearable slog if you listen to it in order.

Agreed. Thus my comments which others apparently took the wrong way! And yeah, definitely worth the attempt. It's classic 'broad stroke' social commentary from Depeche, but the thing is, it can work or at least flow at its best. Sonically it ain't Black Celebration but lyrically definitely the closest they've been in a while.

I liked a lot of Sounds of the Universe but found Delta Machine a snooze and so far this one is no better. Major props to Gahan for his Spencer statement, though.

I am very much in favor of "Fail"

Was disappointed with this initially but gets better in the second half I think. Some lyrics are making me cringe, but that's always been the case with this band.

I very much like this album, more than the last three (although i really like parts of Delta Machine). It's succinct, for one thing; like a normal album length. It's more of a mood album. I'm very pleased.

where's the revolution?

I am beginning to warm to "Scum"

lol @ this RYM review "both the opener and closer describe this album perfectly"

Scum starts awful but turns into something great

now I'm imagining a Depeche Mode/LCD Soundsystem mashup