BERLIN - Depeche Mode are back,
releasing their 14th studio album which the British synth-pop
musicians describe as "bleak".
The Syrian conflict and rise of nationalism in Europe are
cited by the band as inspiration for their songs on "Spirit".
"I think it is a quite bleak album, it doesn't view humanity
very kindly but ... by calling it 'Spirit', maybe that helps to
get us back on the right path," guitarist and keyboardist Martin
Gore told Reuters in an interview.
"We knew it was a little bit dangerous to make an album that
could be construed as being political but we felt that it was
necessary in these times."
The group, which was formed in the 1980s, premiered their
latest work at a Berlin concert on Friday night.
The first single "Where's the Revolution?" was inspired in
2015.
"The world was not as bad as it is today but there were a
lot of things going on, one of the big things for me was Syria,
maybe it's got worse but it was awful back then," Gore said.
"Nationalism is popular again... Remember the last time we
saw nationalism before the Second World War, and there's
potential for some really bad things to happen," keyboardist
Andrew Fletcher said, adding the group were "not known for
making political statements."
The band say they were "baffled" by comments by alt-right
leader Richard Spencer, who was quoted calling Depeche Mode "the
official band of the alt-right". Spencer later wrote on Twitter
he was "joking" and that he was "a lifelong Depeche Mode fan".
"You can look at any of our albums, any of our songs and
we're a very left-leaning band," Gore said.
"I personally think he said it as a bit of a joke because
there is nothing in our lyrics or what we've said over the years
to even put us anywhere near that," Fletcher added.