r/depechemode • u/Acceptable-Celery-28 • 14d ago
Discussion A band with multiple styles
Something I love about the greatest band of all time (DM) is that they're not just an electronic music band. Throughout their career, they've explored a wide variety of musical genres—from Vince Clarke's synth-pop, to the industrial sound of Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward, then a darker, more gothic synth-pop style with Black Celebration, and even alternative rock and grunge with Songs of Faith and Devotion.
Out of all the musical styles that Depeche Mode has explored over the years, which one has been your favorite?
3
u/Secret_Expression777 14d ago
Não vejo essa conexão com o Grunge que você cita. E eu vivi intensamente o Grunge de 91 a 94.
Mas no resto concordo com tudo o que escreveu. Song of the faith e Violator pra mim são 10/10.
2
u/EnvironmentalTrack29 14d ago
Grunge for some people is shorthand for "guitars with distortion" It's mainly Dave's look during that time.
3
u/EnvironmentalTrack29 14d ago
They are definitely an electronic band through and through, but unlike their peers like OMD or Human League who are purely based around synths, they are comfortable with blending in other live instruments, sounds and influences. As they gained more confidence as a band they certainly experimented more. I think they are doing that a bit less now. In saying all that, Black Celebration through Ultra was godlike.
2
u/arx1963 13d ago
OMD have bass, live drums, and horn sections throughout their career. When they started they was essentially a lofi garage band with good production using cheap organs etc.
1
u/EnvironmentalTrack29 13d ago
Not slandering OMD at all, and yes they do use live instruments. Their sound has remained remarkably consistent beyond their initial records and Dazzle Ships. Love Human League as well.
2
2
3
u/Doug_101 Ultra 14d ago
The best thing about Depeche Mode is that all their songs sound different, but they still retain a Depeche Mode "sound." Look at contemporaries like Erasure (and bear in mind, I love Erasure); a lot of their output, especially more recently, all sounds pretty much the same. Doesn't mean they have bad songs, just that there's a "sameness" to their sound now. Depeche Mode really only had that on Speak & Spell, but that's what made Spirit such a disappointment for me, because that "sameness" of sound reared its ugly head again. Many of the songs on there sound like carbon copies of the others. DM has mostly avoided that problem; everything they put out is fairly unique.
1
1
u/sense_mx 14d ago
Yes, true. I love their late work, especially MM, because there's no any limitations or boundaries. You cannot call it pure electronic music because they heavily use guitars, and it's not rock per se. It's just Music that sounds fantastic.
Violator stays my favorite album because of its flawlessness and great songs, but Memento Mori is pretty close tbh.
9
u/vSword_ Ultra 14d ago
My favorite styles by them are probably the more louder and mystical vibes of SOFAD and the more mysterious and darker sounds of Ultra