With the first single off the
new album, Depeche Mode returns
with a slightly sharper and edgier sound. At the time, Martin was admittedly
influenced by German EBM/industrial band
Die Krupps and their Stahl-o-phon
(a xylophone with metal pipes instead of wood). Consequently, both these new
songs features similar metal klonks, most notably on 'Work Hard', which seem
more than a little inspired by the Die Krupps song
Wahre Arbeit, Wahre Lohn both lyrically
and musically. I suspect most of this new musical engineering can be credited
to the new member Alan.
Also, Dave's voice seems more
mature and powerful on these songs. This is when he's learned how to
sing.
Lyricswise, these songs are also somewhat political in roughly
the same way that
Get The Balance Right was, but
perhaps not quite as naive. This is the era of the 'politically aware' Depeche Mode.
