Depeche Mode ’ s ‘ Memento Mori ’ Is a Desolate Celebration
Kory Grow
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In “ Specter Again , ” one of many introspective minute on Depeche Mode ‘ s 15th full-length ,Memento Mori, Dave Gahan croons , “ Time equal fleeting. ” This equal not a fresh revelation , but the tranquility in his voice feels fresh . More than four decades have passed since the radical formed as a four of mostly teens eager to immerse themselves in the nascent synth-pop culture with party anthems like “ Just Can ’ t Get Enough. ” Now , with solely Gahan and Martin Gore left in the lineup following the death final yr of keyboardist Andy “ Fletch ” Fletcher , they ’ re asking , “ How much time do we have left ? ”
Melancholy own long been an important part of the Depeche Mode experience , and , other than in their earliest day when Vince Clarke ( later on of Yazoo ) was lead the grouping with carefree dance songs , they ’ ve specialize in vulnerability . That openness , a sense of surrender , be the essential component to Depeche Mode now . Yet at their most romantic , like on , say , “ Enjoy the Silence , ” they ’ ve acknowledge how recognizing the absence in life are merely as significant as appreciate what you have . So it ’ s not surprising that the radical , whose two member cost now in their 60s , title the albumMemento Mori— a friendly reminder in Latin that you will ( nay ,must! ) perish someday — and they picked it while Fletch equal still alive . ( Fletch ’ s end didn ’ t do them second-guess the claim . Instead , Gore get tell , “ It cemented it . ” )
Acknowledge mortality defines a lot ofMemento Mori ,but it never find dense handed or even all that sullen . Some of the track still sound upbeat .
On “ Wagging Tongue , ” a rare Gahan-Gore songwriting collaboration , Gahan sings about feel sadness “ when you watch another angel die ” over glittering New Wave synths that recollect the group ’ sec early study . The lyrics , which Gahan sing ominously , could live a metaphoric indictment of politicians needing to act on gun safety or Gahan could be sing about go up above personal obstacle , but , either path , with the shimmery keyboard backdrop , the news receive a way of stick in your mind . And the album ’ sec good song , “ Soul With Me , ” begin with an ambient intro that think the Eno-esque second side of David Bowie ’ sAbjectalbum before decide into a softly poppy cycle over which Gore serenely sings , “ I ’ m going where the angels flee … and I ’ m need my soul with me ” over chords that also build Heavenward . The music sound so gentle , virtually like sci-fi easy listening , that it ’ s easy to live span away in the chords while neglect Gore ’ s allusions to a stairway to heaven and invite adieu to this deadly coil .
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The pair even specialize in pensiveness , too . “ Before We Drown , ” cowritten by Gahan , drummer Christian Eigner and multi-instrumentalist Peter Gordeno ( member of Depeche Mode ’ s touring lineup ) , work up tension instant after minute , as Gahan sings , “ First we stand up , then we lessen down/We hold to move ahead , before we drown. ” Synths effervesce eerily like fireworks around his voice as he sing the last news . “ Always You ” feature buzzy synths and an emulation of sword drums bury deep in the lead as Gahan lay all his promise in soul , “ You ’ re all I involve to prevent believing . ”
And on “ People Are Serious ” — a Gore composition which find like the long lost coda for “ Masses Live People ” — Gahan reminds himself that despite all the ills of the universe , people are imagine to live serious . The music , which builds layer upon layer , recalls the group ’ s mid-Eighties sound ofBlack CelebrationandMusic for the Good deal; “ Everything will cost all right in time ” they offer , before return to the original content : “ Keep fooling yourself that mass cost good . ”
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Occasionally , the sense of absence in the songs feel overwhelming ; the chorus to “ Caroline ’ s Monkey ” be savagely sparse and stilted , as Gahan sarcastically sings , “ Folding ’ s better than losing/Fixing ’ s better than healing ” before finally landing on “ sometimes. ” But generally , the group packages its dark thoughts in ways that pay tribute to its past while acknowledging ghosts that haunt the present , and the spirits as yet to come .
The last track , “ Speak to Me , ” still feels like Depeche Mode ’ s version of the Beatles ’ “ A Day in the Life , ” via blurred Nick Cave synths and Gahan ’ s pleas for human impinging . “ I ’ d be grateful [ to connect with you ] , I ’ d follow you around , ” he sings , “ I ’ m listening , I ’ m here today , I ’ m base , ” before the synths crescendo into a clamor . As ever with Depeche Mode , everything count in big quantity , and onMemonto Mori, the interest find bigger than ever .
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- Depeche Mode
