Though probably nobody fully appreciated it at the time -- perhaps least of all the band! --
Depeche Mode
's debut is at once both a conservative, functional
pop
record and a groundbreaking release. While various synth pioneers had come before --
Gary Numan
, early
Human League
, late-'70s Euro-
disco
, and above all
Kraftwerk
all had clear influence on
Speak & Spell
--
Depeche
became the undisputed founder of straight-up
synth pop
with the album's 11 songs, light, hooky, and danceable numbers about love, life, and clubs. For all the claims about "dated" '80s sounds from
rock
purists, it should be noted that the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of
is almost 25 years older than the catchy keyboard lines and electronic drums making the music here. That such a sound would eventually become ubiquitous during the
Reagan
years, spawning lots of crud along the way, means the band should no more be held to blame for that than
Motown
and
the Beatles
for inspiring lots of bad stuff in the '60s. Credit for the album's success has to go to main songwriter
Vince Clarke
, who would extend and arguably perfect the
formula with
Yazoo
Erasure
; the classic early singles
"New Life,"
"Dreaming of Me,"
"Just Can't Get Enough,"
along with numbers ranging from the slyly homoerotic
"Pretty Boy"
to the moody thumper
"Photographic,"
keep everything moving throughout.
David Gahan
undersings about half the album, and
Martin Gore
's two numbers lack the distinctiveness of his later work, but
remains an undiluted joy. ~ Ned Raggett