Depeche Mode confirm new album details and share first single

Depeche Mode have finally confirmed details of their new album, and shared the first single.

The synthpop legends have been teasing Memento Mori, their fifteenth studio record, since last August, and confirmed its title and announced a world stadium tour at a press conference in Berlin in October. It will be the first album from the Essex outfit since the death of co-founder and keyboardist Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher, with the group now a two-piece comprised of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore.

Today (February 9), they confirmed Memento Mori’s track listing, shared its artwork, and confirmed the release date, March 24. Additionally, they have shared a hypnotic lead single, ‘Ghosts Again’, and you can see the video below. It was directed by Control helmsman Anton Corbijn, and features his signature black-and-white photography. A long-time Depeche Mode collaborator, Corbijn is also behind Memento Mori’s artwork.

“To me, ‘Ghosts Again’ just captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy,” said Gahan. Gore, meanwhile, added, “It’s not often that we record a song that I just don’t get sick of listening to – I’m excited to be able to share it.” Work on Memento Mori began in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued after the sudden passing of Fletcher last May. At October’s Berlin press call, Gore had spoken about the nature of going on without him. 

“We started work on this project early in the pandemic, and its themes were directly inspired by that time. After Fletch’s passing, we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.” The full track listing for Memento Mori is below; they play a single UK date this summer as part of an extensive European summer run, at Twickenham Stadium in London on June 17.

Depeche Mode – Memento Mori:

1. ‘My Cosmos Is Mine’
2. ‘Wagging Tongue’
3. ‘Ghosts Again’
4. ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’
5. ‘My Favourite Stranger’
6. ‘Soul with Me’
7. ‘Caroline’s Monkey’
8. ‘Before We Drown’
9. ‘People Are Good’
10. ‘Always You’
11. ‘Never Let Me Go’
12. ‘Speak to Me’