Depeche Mode

Spirit

Fourteenth studio album sees the Mode turn dark and angry.

After a trilogy of records with producer Ben Hillier, Depeche Mode have changed up and turned to James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Foals) for sonic guidance. The result is their heaviest-sounding album in years, filled with thumping electronics matched to a furious state-of-the-world address which reaches a peak with the railing against political apathy in Revolution and the distorted-voiced disgust of Scum. In contrast, amid the Angelo Badalamenti-styled soundscape of The Worst Crime, violent racism is tackled with affecting sadness, and the noir ‘60s-echoing, Dave Gahan-written showstopper Poison Heart spot-lights the singer detailing a broken relationship with a femme fatale. Blow by blow, it all adds up to Depeche Mode’s best album in years.