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Memento Mori
Studio album by Depeche Mode
Released	24 March 2023 (2023-03-24)
Recorded	July - October 2022
Studio	Electric Ladyboy (Santa Barbara), Shangri-La (Malibu)
Genre	Alternative rock, synth-pop
Length	50:24
Label	Columbia Mute
Producer	James Ford
Depeche Mode chronology
Spirit (2017) Memento Mori (2023)
Singles from Memento Mori
"Ghosts Again" Released: 9 February 2023

Memento Mori (stylised as "Memento | Mori" on the album cover) is the fifteenth studio album by Depeche Mode (stylised as "Depeche|Mode" on the album cover), released on 24 March 2023 through Columbia and Mute. The album was produced by James Ford. It was preceded by the single "Ghosts Again" and the track "My Cosmos Is Mine" (released on streaming platforms), and is the first Depeche Mode studio album to be released after the death of co-founder and keyboardist Andy Fletcher on 26 May 2022. The album is promoted by the Memento Mori World Tour.

Background

On 26 May 2022, Andy Fletcher unexpectedly died, with the cause of death later being revealed to be aortic dissection. Although work on the album began prior to Fletcher's death, Dave Gahan stated in an interview with NME that Fletcher did not record any material for the album.

In August 2022, a photo of Martin Gore and Dave Gahan in the studio was shared on social media, indicating they were in the studio working on new material.

On 4 October 2022, the band held a press conference in Berlin, announcing their upcoming album titled Memento Mori and a world tour to go along with it. The album is scheduled to be released "towards the end of March" 2023, which will coincide with the tour starting on 23 March 2023.

"We started work on this project early in the pandemic, and its themes were directly inspired by that time. After Fletch's passing, we decided to continue as we're sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning."

— Martin Gore on the creating process of the album, Live Nation Entertainment

A description of the album appeared on the band's official website: "The album's 12 tracks chart a vast expansion 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". The full tracklist of 12 songs was also announced. On Volt Magazin's website, it was confirmed that "Dave Gahan and Martin Gore said there were five finished tracks that didn't make it onto the long player."

Releases

On 3 February 2023, the official Depeche Mode Twitter account announced "Ghosts Again" as the first single which was released on 9 February 2023 with its accompanying music video.

On 9 March 2023, "My Cosmos Is Mine" was released on streaming platforms to further promote the album. It was not released as a single.

Live debuts

On 11 February 2023, the band debuted "Ghosts Again" live in Sanremo, Italy. On 14 February 2023, "Wagging Tongue" was debuted live in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, France. On 19 February 2023, "My Favourite Stranger" was debuted live in Munich, Germany at a special fan event.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.1/10
Metacritic	86/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Arts Desk
Clash	8/10
The Guardian
The Independent
The Line of Best Fit	9/10
NME
Pitchfork	7.1/10
Record Collector
Rolling Stone

Memento Mori received largely positive reviews upon release. The album received a score of 86 out of 100 from fourteen critics' reviews on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". At AnyDecentMusic?, which collects critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 8.1 points out of 10, based on 11 professional reviews.

The Guardian gave it 4/5 stars, writing "Gore's say-what-you-see lyrics are always best on the essentials of life – sex and death – and Ghosts Again is the pair's best single in aeons, a singalong meditation on mortality that's concise and powerful. Both are in fine voice. Gore's choirboy trills have never been richer than on Soul With Me, while Gahan ranges ever-restlessly from operatic to reptilian, the electro-pop Freddie Mercury. There's warmth in the album's fusion of industrial grind with delicate melody, and producer James Ford sparks a revivifying weirdness in songs such as My Cosmos Is Mine. For a record preoccupied by death, its big heart bursts with life."

Kory Grow of Rolling Stone praised the message of the album, stating "Acknowledging mortality defines much of Memento Mori, but it never feels heavy handed or even all that sullen. Some of the tracks even sound upbeat". He concluded, "As always with Depeche Mode, everything counts in large amounts, and on Memonto Mori, the stakes feel bigger than ever."

Cristina Jaleru of ABC News was also positive about the album stating "The 12 tracks are fully Depeche, fully intoxicating in sound, artistically evocative and sometimes puzzling (like the compelling but strange “Caroline’s Monkey”). The music is staring lovingly into the abyss and asking it to love it back; death is always hovering on the periphery of the sound, a grunge, industrial, rainy sound also filled with a strange kindness." and concluded. "Depeche Mode might be facing their own mortality but their power as musicians stretches into infinity."

Ultimate Classic Rock praised the album, favouring it to its predecessor Spirit stating "Depeche Mode's previous album, 2017's Spirit, suffered from some ill-fitting turns toward the political. There's little of that in Memento Mori. For the most part, this is classic band territory – moody goth draped in familiar lyrical subjects, now also informed by a world-stopping pandemic." but was critical on some tracks saying ""Don't Say You Love Me" comes off like the result of a ChatGPT quest to write a Depeche Mode song, and "Caroline's Monkey" unsuccessfully juggles too many sounds and metaphors during its four-plus minutes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Martin L. Gore, except where noted

Personnel

Depeche Mode

• Dave Gahan
• Martin L. Gore

Additional musicians

• Marta Salogni – programming
• James Ford – programming, synthesizer (tracks 1–8, 10–12); drums, percussion (1, 3–6, 8, 10–12); guitar (4, 6, 11), strings (4, 12), pedal steel guitar (4), bass guitar (5, 11, 12)
• Davide Rossi – strings, cello, violin (3–6, 8, 10, 12)
• Desiree Hazley – violin (3–6, 8, 10, 12)
• Luanne Homzy – violin (3–6, 8, 10, 12)
• Christian Eigner – programming (8, 12)
• Peter Gordeno – programming (8)

Technical

• James Ford – production
• Marta Salogni – mixing, engineering
• Matt Colton – mastering
• Francine Perry – engineering assistance
• Grace Banks – engineer assistance
• Gregg White – engineering assistance (1, 3–6, 8, 10–12)
• Adrian Hierholzer – vocal engineering (3, 4, 11)

Artwork

• Anton Corbijn – cover, all visuals, art direction, design

References

1. Yeung, Neil Z. (2023). "Depeche Mode - Memento Mori Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". Retrieved 25 March 2023.
2. ^ Trendell, Andrew (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode share new single 'Ghosts Again' and details of new album 'Memento Mori'". NME. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
3. "Depeche Mode to Release "Memento Mori" and Tour". NewJerseyStage.com. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
4. Garcia, Thania (4 October 2022). "Depeche Mode Reveals New Album 'Memento Mori' and World Tour, Coming in 2023". Variety. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
5. "Depeche Mode share photo from the studio". Far Out. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
6. Jones, Damian (15 August 2022). "Surviving members of Depeche Mode share new photo from the studio". NME. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
7. ^ "Depeche Mode Announce First Live Shows in Five Years". Live Nation Entertainment. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
8. "Depeche Mode Announce New Album "Memento Mori" and 42 Date World Tour for 2023". Post-punk.com. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
9. "Depeche Mode announces first album and tour since Andy Fletcher's death". Los Angeles Times. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
10. "Depeche Mode: "Ghosts Again" plus B-side and remixes on CD and vinyl". Volt Magazin. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
11. "Depeche Mode reveal date of upcoming new single, 'Ghosts Again'". NME. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
12. ^ "Depeche Mode Memento Mori". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
13. ^ "Memento Mori by Depeche Mode Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
14. Yeung, Neil Z. (25 March 2023). "Depeche Mode – Memento Mori". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
15. Muggs, Joe (23 March 2023). "Album: Depeche Mode - Memento Mori". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
16. Oxford, Jack (23 March 2023). "Depeche Mode - Memento Mori | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
17. Sullivan, Caroline (11 April 1997). "The Mode test". The Guardian. "Friday Review" section, p. 16. ISSN 0261-3077.
18. O'Connor, Roisin (24 March 2023). "Depeche Mode face down the inevitable on Memento Mori - review". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
19. Greer, Vicky. "Depeche Mode: Memento Mori Review - brilliantly new and intense era | Electronic". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
20. Smith, Thomas (23 March 2023). "Memento Mori review: their best work this century". NME. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
21. Currin, Grayson Haver (23 March 2023). "Depeche Mode: Memento Mori Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
22. Allen, Jeremy (23 March 2023). "Memento Mori - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
23. Grow, Kory (23 March 2023). "Depeche Mode's 'Memento Mori' Is a Bleak Celebration". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
24. "Depeche Mode: Memento Mori review – a life-affirming farewell for Fletch". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
25. Grow, Kory (21 March 2023). "Depeche Mode's 'Memento Mori' Is a Bleak Celebration". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
26. Jaleru, Cristina. "Review: Depeche Mode face down the abyss in 'Memento Mori'". ABC News. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
27. Gallucci, Michael GallucciMichael. "Depeche Mode, 'Memento Mori': Album Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 22 March 2023.

• 2023 albums
• Albums produced by James Ford (musician)
• Albums produced by Marta Salogni
• Columbia Records albums
• Depeche Mode albums
• Mute Records albums