• Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Mar 24, 2023
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 85 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 85
  2. Negative: 8 out of 85
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  1. Mar 25, 2023
    3
    Think this positive ratings from the media are strange, DM were always on black list, everything they made was underrated till Ultra. From Exciter media started love DM, this totally flat, weak, boring new DM. Its a paradox. Thought SOTU is their worst album ever. Wrong, this is even worse. Hard core fans say: ' you need quality sound system to enjoy MM!' No. Didn't need it for Violator,Think this positive ratings from the media are strange, DM were always on black list, everything they made was underrated till Ultra. From Exciter media started love DM, this totally flat, weak, boring new DM. Its a paradox. Thought SOTU is their worst album ever. Wrong, this is even worse. Hard core fans say: ' you need quality sound system to enjoy MM!' No. Didn't need it for Violator, didn't need it for MFTM, BC, SOFAD, Ultra, SGR, Expand
  2. Apr 25, 2023
    0
    I can't even say this album is depressing. That would require actual emotion, which this album is completely devoid of. First, nothing stands out anywhere. There are sounds that remind of older Depeche Mode. However, no melodies that make DM so great. Yet even if remove ourselves from the pop magic that no longer exists, there is nothing truly moving, intimate, dark, introspective,I can't even say this album is depressing. That would require actual emotion, which this album is completely devoid of. First, nothing stands out anywhere. There are sounds that remind of older Depeche Mode. However, no melodies that make DM so great. Yet even if remove ourselves from the pop magic that no longer exists, there is nothing truly moving, intimate, dark, introspective, otherworldly, emotive, broken, or even truly melancholy or sad. Every song occupies the exact same space, there is no dynamic or ebb and flow, or highs and lows. It is an even plateau from start to finish, and goes nowhere. Lyrically it is broad, generic, and with no character. It is all empty word "art" that you find at a chain store, in cursive. Superficial and lacking in any personal nuance, question, or inward examination. Note that the lyrics are all static proclamations - Dont Play, You are, I won't. The few departures are songs like Before We Drown - "I've been thinking I can come back home
    So how would that be, you and I alone?
    All alone?
    I have a feeling, you're not on my side
    There's a distance, between you and I
    You and I"
    every line paints the exact same idea... actually scratch that. "paint" is far too generous and descriptive, for such generic on-the-nose flat statements."Painting" would imply that there is some sort of picture, image, mood, atmosphere, story, none of which exists. As a side note, it is interesting (I'm being nice with that word) that there is no indication of staying afloat or being overwhelmed, which conjure the imagery of drowning, which is in the title of the song, and only comes up at the end. It doesn't even have to be blatantly water related, at least some sort of feeling of being inundated or suffocated. No, Standing "naked, standing on the shore" does not do this. It is beach related, it elicits exposure or vulnerability, not drowning.
    The music follows suite in its directionless static nature. choruses and verses blur together with little distinction. You can literally sing along or hum to most DM songs, even the moody melancholy ones, Not every song/album has to have that. But it doesnt have any interest in term of arrangement, different soundscapes, atmosphere, or musical exploration. It is just as flat and lifeless as the monotone droning of vocals and stagnant lyrics.
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  3. Mar 28, 2023
    3
    After listening to this album a few times, I really don't like it that much. I do consider myself a big DM fan, but this is hardly worthy of the praise so many are heaping on it. After listening to it all the way through last night, I had to cleanse my pallet with some truly good DM music and listened to Ultra, Violator, SOFD and Playing the Angel. All of these albums are so much betterAfter listening to this album a few times, I really don't like it that much. I do consider myself a big DM fan, but this is hardly worthy of the praise so many are heaping on it. After listening to it all the way through last night, I had to cleanse my pallet with some truly good DM music and listened to Ultra, Violator, SOFD and Playing the Angel. All of these albums are so much better than this new one. For one thing, overall it is weak, depressing, boring, lacking in the little embellishments that made many of their previous and earlier works really stand out. Is every song about death? How depressing is that? What happened to them? The sound is flat, with an emphasis on electronic, but missing the metallic element and extra sounds that ordinarily compliment the songs. Sorry, but I can't get on this bandwagon. Very disappointed with it and will probably rarely listen to the entire album as a whole. Expand
  4. Mar 28, 2023
    3
    The musical disappointment of the year so far. Clearly aiming for mainstream success with shorter yet slower songs while strangely forgetting silly things like the standout choruses that made them famous (the most effective song is also the longest and opens the record, yet ends up sounding like two unfinished songs pieced together), the results are mostly pretty forgettable. The biggestThe musical disappointment of the year so far. Clearly aiming for mainstream success with shorter yet slower songs while strangely forgetting silly things like the standout choruses that made them famous (the most effective song is also the longest and opens the record, yet ends up sounding like two unfinished songs pieced together), the results are mostly pretty forgettable. The biggest musical surprise here is a keyboard figure opening "Wagged Tongue" that sounds cribbed from 1980s Vince Clarke outtakes. The opening four words from "Personal Jesus" all those years ago beat anything on this album. (One point removed for the embarrassment that is "Caroline's Monkey".) Expand
  5. Mar 24, 2023
    3
    I can't see how someone who found Spirit the accurately "tepid" affair it was would enjoy this album. It has a single, depressing tone; it begs for far better lyrics (they could start by just avoiding clichés and primate absurdities); and the musical production is blandness, sometimes masquerading as dazzle. Soft pass. All this album does is make me mourn the passing of the truly giftedI can't see how someone who found Spirit the accurately "tepid" affair it was would enjoy this album. It has a single, depressing tone; it begs for far better lyrics (they could start by just avoiding clichés and primate absurdities); and the musical production is blandness, sometimes masquerading as dazzle. Soft pass. All this album does is make me mourn the passing of the truly gifted absurdist, Pat Fish. Expand
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Mar 31, 2023
    90
    While much of Memento Mori is thoughtful, and some of it visits the dark side, there is a great deal of positivity underpinning Depeche Mode’s work as a duo.
  2. Mar 30, 2023
    70
    Like the Seventh Seal, Memento Mori raises questions but never brings resolution. ... I It is a testament to their continued relevance and the unexpected wonder in remembering our shared condition.
  3. 70
    Lavish production disguises thin songwriting on a few tracks, but overall this voluptuous sonic feast feels like a fitting epitaph to departed friends. [Jun 2023, p.72]