“Construction Time Again” By Depeche Mode

By: Evan Ferstl

In one of the more fortunate events of 80s music, influential keyboardist Vince Clarke left the band Depeche Mode after recording just one album with them. While Clarke’s later projects would consist of mostly uninteresting synth-pop, Depeche Mode became free to expand their sound, and by incorporating industrial elements into their new wave style, they became one of the few bands of their type that could truly put on a stadium show. 1983’s “Construction Time Again” finds an early version of the band still transitioning away from Clarke’s influence. 

The major theme of the album is, as the title suggests, the consequences of infrastructure development, with appropriately titled songs like “Pipeline” and “The Landscape is Changing.” This lends itself to political messaging, which, while not the band’s strong suit, is something they’ve certainly dabbled in over the years. For example, lyrics like “I don’t care if you’re going nowhere/just take good care of the world” are well-meaning but not particularly impactful. Elsewhere, “Two Minute Warning” is a lower-tier 80s nuclear apocalypse anthem, and while “Told You So” is memorable and employs interesting textures, it is also not particularly well-written. The album produced two singles, and while “Everything Counts” is a classic, “Love, in Itself,” which opens the album, features a goofy arrangement that isn’t particularly endearing. 

Writing an album about a world dealing with major changes fits this era of Depeche Mode’s career well, as they were undergoing a major stylistic shift of their own. Though these transitory albums yielded mixed results, later albums like “Black Celebration” and “Music For the Masses” would see to it that the groundwork laid by earlier releases like “Construction Time Again” would be successfully built upon.