Spirit

AlbumMar 17 / 201717 songs, 1h 16m 31s
Synthpop
Popular

Depeche Mode’s lyrics have been so consumed by personal anxieties during the latter half of their career that it’s startling to hear some explicitly political songs here. Stripping back their blues influences in favor of muscular electronics, they rage against apathy and the ruling classes on “Going Backwards”, “Where’s the Revolution,” and “Scum”. However, it’s in the more optimistic and confessional moments—Krautrock peace anthem “So Much Love” and distorted Motown ballad “Poison Heart”—that *Spirit* truly excels.

6.8 / 10

Spirit is Depeche Mode’s most pointedly topical album, but the synth giants still write universal, stadium-sized music. These songs make you feel like singing in response to today’s headlines.

8 / 10

Their best since 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion.

5.3 / 10

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Our take on the latest from the electro-pop veterans.

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In a time of sociopolitical upheaval, Depeche Mode emerged with Spirit.

8 / 10

If you've ever wondered what the elegy for the 21st century sounds like, Spirit comes pretty close. Following 2013's Delta Machine, Depeche...

8.0 / 10

It's rare for any musician from the '80s to smoothly transfer its appeal past that era without seeming like they're trying too hard to update themselves.

7 / 10

“We’re fucked,” sings Martin Gore on ‘Fail’, the final track on the new Depeche Mode album ‘Spirit’. It’s

6.5 / 10

The promo run behind legendary electro-pop brood unit Depeche Mode's Spirit, their fourteenth full-length release since forming in 1980, took a bizarre turn

A misguided endorsement from one of America’s most hated figures only serves to make the fury here sound even more righteous

55 %

Spirit will more than likely fade away as quickly as any micro-revolutions it inspires.

Album Reviews: Depeche Mode - Spirit

4.0 / 5

Depeche Mode - Spirit review: A painfully accurate record that portrays some of today's main political and social issues...

Essex synth lords on better form than any mega-band on their 14th album should be. CD new music review by Joe Muggs