Depeche Mode
Spirit

In short, Depeche certainly don't make an album identical to another; they never have, and this one is no exception. Spirit is an album that disorients you on the first listen, right from the beautiful and powerful opening track "Going Backwards," but even by the second listen, it mesmerizes and hypnotizes you... Just like what happened to me with the latest Radiohead and David Bowie albums. The same feeling of discomfort but at the same time the desire to delve deeper. And so it goes... and listen after listen it gets under your skin, circulates through your veins, and slowly you become addicted and inevitably dependent on it. It had been since ULTRA that I hadn't perceived such a compact and dark album like SPIRIT. A dense, rough, bitter, and somewhat Lo-fi block. (intentionally, in my opinion) Far, very far from Delta Machine. Okay, I admit the influence of the Soulsavers sometimes takes over (which I personally don't mind at all...), although, and you can tell, Martin enjoys all of this... And it mingles with a certain electronic sound. In some tracks (like "So Much Love"), even some new-wave elements reminiscent of WIRE emerge. It's worth highlighting the new songwriting vein of Gahan, who perhaps delivers the most beautiful and evocative track of the album, "Cover Me," an intense electronic ballad between Pink Floyd and Kraftwerk. The sound impact is more compressed and profound, not by chance due to the new production. To be clear, I don't think there are memorable tracks, although "Where's the Revolution" (the most "commercial") has everything to become a Depeche classic. What else can I say? I’m glad our boys are always on point, not resting, not getting complacent by living off past glories and only doing self-celebrating concerts. They constantly challenge themselves with results that may or may not please. And this is to their credit for over 30 years of career. Well, I quite like this Spirit at the moment, and who knows, over time it might become indispensable as often, indeed, let’s say always, happens with Depeche Mode's albums, which, like wine, get better with age... But maybe it already is...??
Enjoy it, and not superficially