Depeche Mode – Memento Mori (2LPs, Sony Music)

Double vinyl LP pressing. 2023 release. Memento Mori is Depeche Mode’s 15th studio album and it’s first as a two-piece lineup of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, following co-founder Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher’s tragic passing in 2022. Produced by James Ford, with additional production work by Marta Salogni, Memento Mori’s gestation took place during the early stages of the Covid pandemic, resulting in themes inspired directly by that period. The album’s 12 tracks chart a vast expanse of moods and textures, from it’s ominous opening to it’s closing resolve-running the gamut from paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy, and hitting myriad points between.