Steady review of album.
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/depeche-mode-memento-mori/amp/
Got the album last night and currently on a second listen. It
is a work of art, the cathedral sounds are there, the darkness is also there. While it's clearly not Violator - it is really good (although far too early to call it great).
'Don't say you love me' sounds almost like a James Bond theme, which is in start contrast to 'My Cosmos is Mine' the opener, or 'Speak to Me' the closer.
I enjoyed the Pitchfork review also, thought you would appreciate these comments from Pitchfork;
After more than 40 years, it is astonishing and redeeming how rarely Depeche Mode have been embarrassing. Yes, they’re a quarter-century removed from their last megahits, but they’ve never deigned to the menial tasks of senescence—cruise ships, state fairs, full-album toursalso
They’ve suffered addiction, abdication, near-death, and, now, death itself, but they’ve never made a truly awful record by chasing trends they’d already missed. For all their dependable despair, Depeche Mode thrive more on persistence and self-respect.