Suffer With Pride

Depeche Mode “Condemnation”

“Condemnation” is Depeche Mode playing against type, at least on a surface level. It’s essentially a gospel ballad, and the synthesizers and drum machines that define most of their work are either sidelined or minimized in the arrangement. Whereas most of their work is programmed and produced in a way that doesn’t attempt to simulate the notion of a “live” performance, “Condemnation” very much sounds like music played in a physical space. You can hear the room, and the reverberations of the snare hits. Dave Gahan’s vocal performance seems very physical too, with his inflections and stresses suggesting a strained, grimacing face.

As much as “Condemnation” is an atypical Depeche Mode song, it’s representative of Martin Gore’s strengths as a songwriter. Lyrically, it’s a good example of his obsession with guilt and shame. There’s two ways of reading this one: It’s either a song from the perspective of someone who’s literally been put on trial for a crime he says he hasn’t committed but is resigning himself to condemnation, or it’s from the perspective of someone who is hyperbolically imagining themselves as being persecuted in this way. Either way, it’s about making yourself a martyr, and it’s a very Martin Gore sort of pessimistic melodramatic fantasy.

It’s also a fine example of Gore’s intriguing way around a melody. Gore’s melodies are strong and accessible, but always veer slightly out of expected paths. I wonder how much of this is just his natural instincts, or if he writes a more expected melody first and revises it a bit to make it more interesting and distinctive. It’s all rather subtle, but it’s a key part of what makes his songs work, particularly when he’s venturing into the realm of genre pastiche as he is here.

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