Backed by the screams of a sea of adoring fans, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and the band provide an emphatic performance of the lead single from the 2023 release ‘Memento Mori’, balancing the weight of the track's subject matter of loss with the twinkling keyboard and synth accompaniment. “Time is fleeting” is not just a standalone metaphor; it’s a fact. A fact that doesn’t dwell upon the ghosts of fallen friends and years passed, but breathes life into their memory. And that’s precisely what this live performance does, years after the song's original release.
The accompanying video, taken from the feature ‘DEPECHE MODE: M’, shows Gahan and Gore front and centre, drenched in a ghostly blue light and foregrounding the shadowy M that fills the stage. It's as uplifting a performance as you could imagine for a song that details the fragility of the human experience, with flashes of Gahan's colourful waistcoat and Gore's signature guitar hook bridging the divide between melancholy and joy. The life brought to the performance further cements the ties that the Mode has created between music and morality, and the setting in Mexico City is a true testament to the cultural traditions that inspired it.
‘DEPECHE MODE: M’ and ‘Memento Mori: Mexico City’ are due for release on December 5th; you can pre-order and pre-save here.
Megan-Louise Burnham
Image: ‘Memento Mori: Mexico City’ Official Album Cover
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider buying us a coffee. The money from this pot goes towards the ever-increasing yearly costs of running and hosting the site, and our "Writer Of The Month" cash prize.