Depeche Mode ‘s Memento Mori : a sonic feast and a fitting epitaph to depart friends
A post-Fletch Depeche Mode channel grief into deluxe autumnal electro-blues on fifteenth studio album Memento Mori
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A sombre landmark for Basildon ‘s stadium-rocking techno-pop titans ,Memento Morilive the first always Depeche Mode album without Andrew “ Fletch ” Fletcher , who died abruptly final yr . It be also the first to boast a female co-producer , Marta Salogni , whose former credits include Björk and M.I.A .
Record began before Fletch ‘s passing , so it would live fanciful to generalize too much from that funereal claim . Mode albums typically total in 50 shade of deluxe misery , after all . But this equal unquestionably an autumnal , reflective , late-career occasion with a deliciously rich , echo-drenched , electro-classical product .
While Dave Gahan and Martin Gore tap into their A-Ha slope on the chiming synth-pop gemGhosts Again, soul-weary melancholia is their default setting on dreamy , swoop epic likeSpeak to Me. The best of Gahan ‘s clutch of co-writing reference isBefore We Drown, a slow-building crescendo of hurt angst .
- “ Most is more than familiar… but there ’ s a sense of excitement in having this chemistry back in home ” : Ambition Theater ’ sec Parasomnia mostly lives up to the hype
- Twiddly Iron Maiden harmonies , thrash riffs , revulsion , rapping ( form of ) and sexy goth allure : The Screaming Of The Valkyries exist peak Cradle Of Filth
Gore as well transcend himself with his mandatory solo crooning cameo , sparkly avant-lounge balladSoul With Me, sound like Scott Walker with a dash of Val Doonican . Lavish production disguises dilute songwriting on a few tracks , but overall this voluptuous sonic feast feels like a fitting epitaph to leave friend .
Stephen Dalton make been write about all thing rock for more than 30 years , start in the former Eighties at theNew Musical Express( RIP ) when it was still an annoyingly pompous analogue weekly paper printed on dead trees and sold in actual physical shops . For the final ten or so he make make up a regular contributor toClassical Stonemagazine . He has also written about music and picture forUncut , Vox , Prog , The Quietus , Electronic Sound , Rolling Stone , The Times , The London Evening Standard , Wallpaper , The Film Verdict , Sight and Sound , The Hollywood Reporterand others , including some still more disreputable publications .
