Construction Time Again.
By way of Do You Feel Loved?, Depeche Mode announces they're beginning work on a new album. I'd love to see the band get out of the "I adore you like a black crucifix" thematic rut they've been in for almost two decades now and try to recapture some of their earlier political period ("Everything Counts," "Monument," "Get the Balance Right") But, Martin Gore's recent work hasn't been all that promising in that regard.
It's been downhill since "Music for the Masses." When are bands like U2, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran and Depeche going to realize that their ten minutes were over 10 years ago? And this from someone who paid a lot of money in high school to go and see the 101 concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
I wouldn't say that's true. Songs of Faith and Devotion in 1993 was rock bottom, but Ultra and Exciter were progressively better. They're not as good as the trifecta of Black Celebration, Masses, and Violator, but, really, few albums are.