Depeche Mode - 'Speak & Spell' [Reissue] (Mute) Released 10/04/06

25 years after its original release, as part of Mute records’ Depeche Mode reissue series (in ‘deluxe’ format with bonus DVD, naturally) their debut album ‘Speak & Spell’ gets a deserved fresh outing. True, segments of the album sounds incredibly dated and parts come across almost naïve as if the band were struggling to get to grips with the synthesiser technology, but nevertheless a quarter of a century on there’s something extremely invigorating and refreshing about this work.

Predominately written by Vince Clarke, who later left the band in December 1981, ‘Speak & Spell’ is still imbued with the archetypal Depeche Mode blueprint that later saw them sell out stadiums. However, whereas future hits were slickly produced electro-pop gems, there’s an innocence and something unhinged about these tracks that only add to their charm. Opener ‘New Life’ sets the tone with its almost early nineties computer game bleeps and blasé vocals, while the hyperactive and intrinsically eighties ‘I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead’ borders on the comical (in a good way of course). Later, the unadulteratedly brilliant chart smash ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and debut single ‘Dreaming Of Me’ hit home about just how good the Depeche boys were at nailing a simple pop tune.

Yet, for all the greatness of the standout singles, there’s darker moments on ‘Speak & Spell’ that are its backbone. The abrasive ‘Photographic’ fuses moody vocals with pummelling beats and sweeping synth movements – little surprise then, that the track has recently been sampled for underground club tracks. ‘Tora! Tora! Tora!’ is equally abrasive and voluminous – only one of two Martin Gore penned tracks, it sets the benchmark for later works. Very forward-thinking, while ‘Speak & Spell’ doesn’t quite sound like the future the band were striving to create, the sheer experimentalism is testament to Depeche Mode.