photo credits: Owen Ela

80s synth pop group, Depeche Mode, has seen recent revival for their 1987 track “Never Let Me Down” after its recent appearance in HBO Drama, The Last of Us. Originally found on the group’s 7th studio album, Music For The Masses, as the intro track while more recently being used at the end of the first episode and also reprising its spot on the show’s soundtrack in the sixth episode. Helping along with the rest of the show’s soundtrack to craft the perfect post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Since its soundtrack placement on the show, the track has seen an estimated 220.5% stream increase. 

Since the recent revival of this song, Depeche Mode members have been delighted to see their work still hold relevance to a modern audience. Member Dave Gahan shares, “It’s incredible that we got that boost. We’re fortunate in that we seem to attract a young audience anyway. With each record there are 20-year-olds getting into it. But that’s just one track – I hope that anyone who discovered that song would be interested to get into everything else we’ve done.” This new breath of media attention given to the group is the perfect publicity boost for the band’s upcoming album Memento Mori. 

Gahan also stated, “That was nuts, we didn’t expect that. It’s like it’s our time again and you can feel it in the air.” The surprise of this recent influx of listeners is sure to set the precedent for a successful new era not only pleasing long time fans of the group but the newest members of their listening audience as well. Memento Mori marks the group’s first studio project since their 2017 release, Spirit and the unfortunate passing of fellow band member Andy Fletcher in May 2022. 

The group has recently released a single under the title “My Cosmos is Mine” on March 9th for their latest album rollout following the single “Ghosts Again” and is set to be the intro track for Memento Mori. New and old listeners alike can expect the newest installment of dark synth-heavy pop hits to be released March 24th.