Songs of life, death and what remains

Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan and Martin Gore will release their long-awaited album Memento Mori on March 24th.

It's overshadowed by the death of band member Andrew Fletcher.

He didn't make it to the studio anymore.

This is another reason why the twelve new songs are so special.

Of course, in "Memento Mori" one can hear the consuming melancholy and profound gloom that Depeche Mode has so elegantly cultivated of late.

And feel the shivers of sadness when you think about the fact that this 15th studio album by the British synth-poppers was actually planned with the usual three-piece Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew Fletcher.

It will be released on Friday, a good six years after the latest album "Spirit".

All songs were written, discussed, balanced humanly - the latter task fell to Fletcher.

The other two members share a creative love-hate relationship to this day: Gore, the brilliant sound and text tinkerer with an angelic voice, and Gahan, the incomparable singer with a penchant for narcissism.

But Fletcher, the third man, was her go-between.

He didn't make it to the studio anymore.

The 60-year-old died in May 2022. Tear in the main artery, it happened very quickly.

Aside from the album title, which emphasizes mortality, some songs also seem like a prophecy in this light.

“Ghost again”, for example, the first release, is a danceable reminder to use your time on earth sensibly.

Or the ballad "Soul with me": The acceptance of the offense when Gore sings "I'm ready for the final page" is almost comforting.

The cult band, founded in 1980, could win new fans with "Wagging Tongue".

The pleasingly constructed, socially critical piece on the subject of lies and slander is the result of the rare compositional collaboration between Gore and Gahan.

“Caroline's Monkey”, which tells of drug abuse, seems almost sardonic.

The anti-war song "My Cosmos is mine" stands for itself: a darkly booming, uncompromising indictment of warmongering.

In between there are a number of lover pieces like "People are good" (it's about self-deception), "Before we drown" penned by Gahan or the longing "Always you".

That means – valuable sound themes, emotions and messages are often hidden in the synth carpet.

worth listening to.

It's all produced intelligently and shows a wise step backwards: a lot of synths and drums, of course, but less guitar, but a few strings instead.

And there is hope that Depeche Mode's "Memento Mori" may remind us of mortality, but that their album is not the end.

Depeche Mode: "Memento Mori" (Columbia Records).