Genre: Alternative/Synth-Pop, New Wave

On a Playlist With: The Cure, Tears for Fears, Enigma

One of the pillars of the New Wave genre in the ‘80s, Depeche Mode are the boys from Basildon England who are no strangers to darkness. Between the departures of Vince Clarke and Alan Wilder, to frontman Dave Gahan’s numerous dust-ups with death due to drug addiction, darkness has come to be a defining characteristic to the identity of Depeche Mode. 

However, in 2022, the odds were stacked against the group like never before. Between the untimely death of Andrew Fletch – often described as the glue holding the band together, to Gahan considering exiting the band, the probability of the group reconvening seemed to dim by the day. However, with the 2023 release of “Memento Mori,” Depeche Mode have done what they always do best – embracing the dark by finding the light within.

Quite literally translating to “remember you must die,” “Memento Mori” is an album that, while in principle may have been conceived in response to Fletch’s death, finds near-miraculous ways to harken back to all of Depeche Mode’s peak periods ranging from 1983’s “Construction Time Again,” to 1990’s “Violator” – all while boldly moving forward with renewed life. 

The trademark haunting harmonization shared here between the ghastly duo of Gahan and Gore is a welcome recurring theme throughout the album, but it’s particularly poignantly piercing here given one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which continues to result in senseless deaths.

Following their starkly optimistic debut in 1981’s “Speak and Spell,” Depeche Mode demonstrated they were always a group who knew how to elegantly yet seductively dance with morbid topics of darkness and death. 40 years into their career, the band dared to take it a step further by marrying death with dance to produce their most profound album since 2009’s “Sounds of the Universe.”

Lifelong fans and casual listeners alike are bound to feel chills down their spines as they open their invitations to Depeche Mode’s haunting party with album opener ‘My Cosmos is Mine.’ The band has not opened any of their albums this ominously since their defiantly sound and compelling 2005 work, “Playing the Angel.” Complete with a light, yet progressively intensifying beat, and soul-scratching static, the duo of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore forebodingly deliver the heart-rending bridge with lyrics like, “No war, no war, no war/No more, no more, no more, no more/No fear, no fear, no fear, no fear/Not here, not here, not here, not here/No rain, no clouds, no pain, no shrouds/No final breaths, no senseless deaths.”

The trademark haunting harmonization shared here between the ghastly duo of Gahan and Gore is a welcome recurring theme throughout the album, but it’s particularly poignantly piercing here given one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which continues to result in senseless deaths. However, for fans who are not keen on Depeche Mode wading into the political like they did in their sludgy and inconsistent 2017 outing, “Spirit,” fear not, as this is the only instance where they do so and it works marvelously.

It becomes clear that the true meaning of Memento Mori is that in the midst of loss, families truly begin to comprehend the sheer strength that exists in togetherness.

Tracks like “Wagging Tongue,” “My Favorite Stranger,” and the album-defining modern mega-hit that is “Ghosts Again,” carry the 12-track LP, as each sees Gahan and Gore at their vocal peaks, albeit at differing wavelengths. Where “Wagging Tongue” is a spiritual synth-stompfest, “My Favorite Stranger” is the 1980’s leather-clad club anthem lifelong fans would come for, and they get it in spades here. 

However “Ghosts Again” is on an entirely different astral plane because it manages to blend the styles of both tracks for an effect that is purely magical and sees Gahan emotionally belting lyrics like, “Sunday’s shining/Silver linings/Weightless hours/All my flowers/A place to hide the tears that you cried/Everybody says goodbye.” Coupled with one of the band’s most dramatically stirring ends to any of their songs when they collectively harmonize, “Faith is sleeping/Lovers in the end/Whisper we’ll be ghosts again,” this song alone is enough to make anyone erupt with tears. 

“Ghosts Again” is the band’s most evocative song since 2005’s “Precious.” In fact, the lead single is so impactful that it serves to perfectly embody the identity of the entire album – a beautification of death that is melodiously melancholy – scintillating yet stirringly sobering. 

For those who come for the nearly obligatory Martin Gore solo performance, they get that too with “Soul with Me,” as Gore puts on a comforting clinic that reeks of Soul and R&B. The track demonstrates Gore’s vocal immortality across four decades, nearly invoking the youthful exuberance present in “A Question of Lust” from the band’s 1986 album “Black Celebration.”

Tracks like “People are Good,” “Before We Drown” and “Never Let Me Go” are all standouts in their own right. “People are Good” sounds like a modern rendition of the group’s 1984 track, “People are People,” complete with ironic but expected pessimism surrounding the human condition and a chorus that sees Gahan and Gore wailing into the abyss. “Before We Drown” and “Never Let Me Go” are classic Depeche-styled songs that sees Gahan and Gore bonding their heavenly vocals with dark themes of isolation. The simplistic yet effective beats that follow these tracks further cement the group’s ability to make magic out of minimalism.

It becomes clear that the true meaning of Memento Mori is that in the midst of loss, families truly begin to comprehend the sheer strength that exists in togetherness. For both David Gahan and Martin Gore showcase how impactful they are separately, but together, they are a force strong enough to endure hell yet ethereal enough to part the heavens. 

The Bottom Line: “Memento Mori” sees the duo of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore marrying the darkness while harkening back to old tricks for refreshingly new and simplistic effects, all while maintaining the haunting aura that made the group a household name.

The Peaks: Ghosts Again, My Favourite Stranger, My Cosmos Is Mine, Never Let Me Go

The Valleys: Always You

The Verdict: 9/10