Depeche Mode have always danced with death. Listen to, say, 1989’s “Enjoy the Silence” and you’ll detect a dark, simmering nihilism eager to remind us that we all die eventually. Even their most lustful tracks are accompanied by an urgency that borders on frantic, as though time might run out before the chance for one last bonk.
Memento Mori, the band’s 15th album, is unique because the inevitable has, in fact, happened – only much sooner than anyone could have predicted. The sudden death of keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, aged 60, last year means the band are now a duo. Dave Gahan and Martin Gore have been left to process the stark reality of what has always captivated their music.
