Depeche Mode
Memento Mori

There have been cries of miracle from many when the first glimpses of this new album manifested. After a dozen years in which the band of Gahan and Gore (which today, unfortunately, calling them a band sounds like a mockery) tried to find their footing by continuing to rely on the same producer and the same crossover of blues and electronics, today there is a feeling that the Basildon natives have figured out which direction to look and turn. A direction that is partly a return to retracing their steps seeking a successful mediation between the hardcore Devotees and an increasingly broad and wavering audience. The fact is that “Memento Mori” on one hand recovers the old school of immediately recognizable - and singable - riffs and openings, while on the other hand cleans up the synthetic sound of their last faded albums and puts it at the service of the songs.

Songs that have certainly benefited from the multi-handed writing, if only to shake up the stagnant waters of a Martin Gore who, frankly, was not quite inspired between 2008 and 2017. Even though I appreciated "Spirit" globally because it was endowed with its own heterogeneous cohesion and - apart from the occasionally embarrassing lyrics - capable of moving with a few objectively successful tracks. Wickedly reviled by many, to the point of being considered today their worst work, in truth, it was preparatory to "Memento Mori". Much more than that receptacle of confused and incoherent ideas that was "Sounds of the Universe".

"Memento Mori" is a balanced album, pushed by the long pandemic abstinence, by the disappearance of good Fletch, and by a very studied marketing campaign. It arrived at the right time to reinvigorate the ravenous expectations of a people who never seem tamed and never satisfied. Just look at the crowds at recent home concerts and the ticket rush accomplished in a few hours for the upcoming winter tour dates (sold out in a few hours). An album that begins with the usual dark grandeur and then sums up a long career with an alluring tracklist, very focused on rhythm and Dave's crooner voice (in fact, only one song sung by Martin), very calibrated in alternating eighties reminiscences and the best elements of the more recent period.

I won't dwell on individual tracks which have already been handled by many here. Personally, I want to emphasize how a project that has four decades and more manages to maintain such a high level of attention and overall quality despite all the - even radical - changes the music market has recently undergone. Being able to put in the catalog the cassette version - in transparent red plastic - at 20 euros with sales that have exceeded tens of thousands of copies is no small feat. And the esteem that Depeche is credited with, even by their detractors, especially from within the belly of the fans, demonstrates that the foundations of their story are much more solid and structured than one might think.