Depeche Mode Memento Mori
- Alternative |
- Post Punk |
- Rock |
- Synth Pop
Release Date: March 24, 2023
Label: Columbia
Memento Mori is Depeche Mode's 15th studio album and its their first as a two-piece lineup of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, following co-founder Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher’s tragic passing in 2022.
Having been stealthily previewed in Berlin last October at the Memento Mori tour launch event, first single “Ghosts Again” is nothing short of classic Depeche Mode, with its evocative Dave Gahan lyrical imagery - “wasted feelings, broken meanings… a place to hide the tears we cry” - and a hypnotic Martin Gore guitar figure atop an uplifting, optimistic groove.
“To me, ‘Ghosts Again’ just captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy,” commented Gahan. Gore adds, “It’s not often that we record a song that I just don’t get sick of listening to – I’m excited to be able to share it.”
Produced by James Ford, with additional production work by Marta Salogni, Memento Mori's gestation took place during the early stages of the worldwide pandemic, resulting in themes inspired directly by that period. The album’s 12 tracks chart a vast expanse of moods and textures, from its ominous opening to its closing resolve, running the gamut from paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy, and hitting myriad points between.