‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’: the Depeche Mode album that “scared” Brandon Flowers
The darker side of Depeche Mode was always there, but it really took off after the departure of Vince Clarke. Many concede that the ultimate album of the Mode is Violator, which is a fair case, but others say that their more macabre elements peaked at Songs of Faith and Devotion. The Killers’ Brandon Flowers enthusiastically falls into the latter category.
To describe Songs of Faith and Devotion as an exercise in the darker side of music creation would be an accurate evaluation. For Flowers, this element was something that vehemently “drew me in”. At a younger age, he bought earlier albums like their debut Speak & Spell, but their sound evolved to include more of “a sense of sin”.
Realising the macabre appeal of the band, Flowers grew increasingly sucked into their world, peeling back layer after layer and enjoying various elements like the darker sonic tone and “the way they approached religion”. Songs of Faith and Devotion epitomised this for Flowers, who found his initial intimidation to be somewhat enticing.
This perceived darkness at the core of Songs of Faith and Devotion is no accident. In fact, the party that was the Violator album and its subsequent tour was long gone, and Songs of Faith and Devotion saw a different Depeche Mode that struggled to get anything done. Although this was partially due to frontman Dave Gahan’s growing drug problem, finishing the album was like “pulling teeth”, according to producer Flood.
As a result of the internal frustrations and the natural musical direction the band were beginning to take, many of the songs adopted a sinister yet ethereal-like quality that delivered an endearing, multi-layered listener experience. Works like ‘Judas’, ‘Condemnation’, ‘In Your Room’ and ‘I Feel You’, for instance, showcased their lasting appeal and ability to craft complex compositions that tapped into the inner human psyche.
“It was too damn dark for me at first,” Flowers explained to The Guardian. “It scared me, and I didn’t understand the beauty of it.” The musician’s reservations make sense, especially considering the fact that his musical repertoire had yet to expand to the endless appeal of dark wave and synth-pop music. Discovering such songs at a young age also taps into a variety of experiences that may be too difficult to resonate with.
Once Flowers clicked, however, it was a real game changer. “I would learn to sing all the songs while I was playing golf or on the way to school,” the singer recalled, describing the moment he suddenly felt connected to the intensity of their music. It could be said that bands like Depeche Mode encouraged the future frontman to explore more electronic musical territories, but it’s likely that such tastes became a more subconscious influencing factor, demonstrating the depth of their impact.