Condemnation a Very Praiseworthy Depeche Mode Song.

Here we are at evening one of Austin City Limits Fest. Depeche Mode is on stage working the crowd into a fever pitch. I can only imagine this is true since I'm perched behind this keyboard typing up my latest round of sentiments but it probably won't turn out to be far from the truth. One of the less acknowledged songs from their body of work to my way of thinking is "Condemnation" from 1992's "Songs of Faith and Devotion". Martin Gore wears the crown of thorns convincingly. The beat is a big time knuckle drooper. You couldn't get any further away from the band's signature sprightly stepping "Just Can't Get Enough" where mood is concerned.Right off the bat you get this percussive, slowly timed thunk effect that sounds as if just getting out of its musical bed is too much of an effort for any of them to rightly stand. Martin's vocal range echoes the abiding pain of an obviously wounded animal. The lyrics don't just spring from his lips...they howl in agony. He suffers with pride yet has visible tears on his face as if to suggest he's not to sure he's bound to like the direction this particular journey is headed for. Most fans likely gravitated towards the grit of "I Feel You", all fuzzy and a pinch dangerous, but it's the deliberately choreographed "Condemnation" that's the single I turn to when I want to be totally mesmerized. Alan Wilder's drumming does a great deal to show the burden Martin's carrying. There's a clap along sensibility which runs through the song as well. Keyboards lend a slight hint of eerie spectacle to the proceedings. Martin's duty was to beauty and that was his crime. Nobody comes up with lyrics like that anymore. Pure poetry served up with a heaping helping of angst. The tone conveys this message of "Hey everybody. It's a funeral march and you're all invited. Maybe afterwards we'll have chips and dip." Like I said...deflated of any uplift. I like plenty of copious helpings of uplift so for me to get behind this song in a big way could be construed as somewhat of a Christian miracle. What can I say. It's all in how the gift is packaged. "Condemnation" is great theater from start to finish. The way the band's in sync harmonies have a hornet's nest buzz attitude to them. The pathos Alan Wilder gives to us all on piano is staggering. You wonder how any of them musters up any strength to proceed but somehow out of the hat comes one heck of a feisty rabbit. To those at the fest have an amazing time, by all means go bananas when "People Are People" or "Personal Jesus" rises up from the stage but don't forget that, whether the boys include it on the set list or not, "Condemnation" deserves no faint praise. It brings new meaning to the word "somber". Not only that it allows Martin to emote furiously as if the concept was soon to be passe. Sheer brilliance.