Depeche Mode Memento Mori: Mexico City
Depeche Mode's Memento Mori: Mexico City distills the band's confrontation with loss into a career-spanning live statement that feels equal parts tribute and triumph. Across three professional reviews, critics point to moments of raw catharsis that answer the persistent question of whether the record is worth listening to: the consensus score sits at 83.33/100 from three reviews, and the set's emotional heft makes a persuasive case for its place in the canon.
Reviewers consistently praise a mix of classics and late-era material as the show's emotional anchors. Critics singled out “Everything Counts - Live in Mexico City”, “Never Let Me Down Again - Live in Mexico City” and “Personal Jesus - Live in Mexico City” for their crowd-fueled power, while newer songs such as “My Cosmos Is Mine - Live in Mexico City” and the Memento Mori entries like “In the End” and “Wagging Tongue” emerge as standout tracks that deepen the set's themes of mortality and resilience. Across reviews, the interplay of intimacy and spectacle, the palpable crowd energy, and strong Gore-sung moments on tracks like “Home” and “Ghosts Again” are repeatedly highlighted.
While some critics frame the film-concert as continuation rather than reinvention, they agree the Mexico City performance succeeds by translating grief into communal catharsis. The critical consensus suggests Memento Mori: Mexico City is a compelling live document for fans and newcomers curious about the best songs on Memento Mori: Mexico City, balancing reverent tribute with muscular live performance. Below this summary, the full reviews unpack how these highlights reshape Depeche Mode's legacy in the wake of loss.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Everything Counts - Live in Mexico City
1 mention
"The build-up to (and comedown from) "Everything Counts" is a cathartic rush"— AllMusic
Never Let Me Down Again - Live in Mexico City
1 mention
"the energetic maelstrom of windmilling arms that Gahan kicks off toward the end of ‘Never Let Me Down’"— Clash Music
I Feel You - Live in Mexico City
1 mention
"as is the guaranteed thrill of "I Feel You""— AllMusic
The build-up to (and comedown from) "Everything Counts" is a cathartic rush
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Intro - Live in Mexico City
My Cosmos Is Mine - Live in Mexico City
Wagging Tongue - Live in Mexico City
Walking In My Shoes - Live in Mexico City
It's No Good - Live in Mexico City
Sister Of Night - Live in Mexico City
In Your Room - Live in Mexico City
Everything Counts - Live in Mexico City
Precious - Live in Mexico City
Speak To Me - Live in Mexico City
Home - Live in Mexico City
Soul With Me - Live in Mexico City
Ghosts Again - Live in Mexico City
I Feel You - Live in Mexico City
A Pain That I'm Used To - Live in Mexico City
World In My Eyes - Live in Mexico City
Wrong - Live in Mexico City
Stripped - Live in Mexico City
John the Revelator - Live in Mexico City
Enjoy The Silence - Live in Mexico City
Waiting for the Night - Live in Mexico City
Just Can't Get Enough - Live in Mexico City
Never Let Me Down Again - Live in Mexico City
Personal Jesus - Live in Mexico City
Survive - from the Memento Mori Sessions
Life 2.0 - from the Memento Mori Sessions
Give Yourself To Me - from the Memento Mori Sessions
In The End - from the Memento Mori Sessions
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Ned Raggett hears the live set as continuation rather than reinvention, and praise for the best songs on Memento Mori: Mexico City centers on the Memento Mori debuts, especially “My Cosmos Is Mine” and “Wagging Tongue”. He foregrounds the band’s enduring strengths - the brooding roil of “My Cosmos Is Mine” and the moody sparkle and harmonies on “Wagging Tongue” - as the clearest highlights. He also flags a strong Gore-sung take on “Home” and a lovely turn through “Ghosts Again”, situating them as top live moments. The review frames these tracks as the reasons this release matters for fans seeking the best tracks on Memento Mori: Mexico City rather than a radical reimagining.
Key Points
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The best song(s) are the new Memento Mori live debuts, led by the brooding “My Cosmos Is Mine” and the moody, harmony-rich “Wagging Tongue”.
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The album’s core strengths are enduring vocal harmonies, faithful live arrangements, and emotional resonance tied to the band’s recent loss.
Critic's Take
Depeche Mode's Memento Mori: Mexico City captures a band confronting loss while celebrating life, and the best songs on the record - like “Everything Counts”, “I Feel You”, and “In the End” - provide the emotional high points. The live rendition of “Everything Counts” becomes a cathartic rush with palpable audience excitement, while “I Feel You” delivers the guaranteed thrill that anchors the set. Newer entries from Memento Mori and the Memento Mori Sessions, especially “In the End”, stand out as unexpectedly strong complements to the classics. This Mexico City document is one of the stronger live sets since Devotional, balancing fan favorites and late-era highlights into a satisfying whole.
Key Points
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The live version of "Everything Counts" is the emotional high point due to its cathartic build and audience reaction.
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The album's core strengths are a career-spanning setlist, strong crowd energy, and the blending of new Memento Mori material with beloved classics.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a voice that alternates between elegiac and ecstatic, Depeche Mode's Memento Mori: Mexico City showcases its best songs as living documents of grief and resilience. The review singles out live highlights like “Home” and “Never Let Me Down Again” for their raw emotion and crowd energy, while “Personal Jesus” serves as a fiery, confessional closer. Mat Smith praises the transformed vigor of “A Pain That I'm Used To” and the mournful sweetness of “Ghosts Again”, arguing these are among the best tracks on Memento Mori: Mexico City. The film-concert package makes these songs feel both intimate and monumental - the best tracks here are those that translate the album's themes of mortality into cathartic performance.
Key Points
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The best song is 'Home' because the reviewer highlights Gore's raw emotion and calls it a poignant torch song.
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The album's core strengths are emotional intensity in performance and a successful marriage of filmic themes of mortality with live spectacle.