A QUESTION OF TIME
Depeche Mode in albums. Consistency is their middle name, decides DANNY ECCLESTON
SPEAK AND SPELL
★★★★
(Mute, 1981)
Often presumed to be Depeche Mode’s super-pop record, their (mostly) Vince Clarke-penned debut has enough cutting-edge analogue synth action and weird darkness to give depth and – so it has proven – longevity. Photographic hinted broodingly at voyeurism; Gore’s instrumental Big Muff would not sound outgunned on any early- ’80s electronica mixtape.
A BROKEN FRAME
★★★
(Mute, 1982)
No-one is quite sure why Vince Clarke left DM – not even Clarke – but Gore thinks their rejection of one or more of his second batch of songs was part of it. Gore’s efforts to step into the breach, however, were mixed. See You is DM’s wimpiest single, but Leave In Silence introduces the semi- Slavic gloom that would soon be serving DM so well.
CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN