Ghosts Again

"Ghosts Again" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released on 9 February 2023 as the lead single from their fifteenth studio album, Memento Mori.

Background

"Ghosts Again" marks the first single release since the death of co-founder and keyboardist Andy Fletcher in May 2022.^[1] To Dave Gahan, the song "captures this perfect balance of melancholy and joy", while Martin Gore added that the song has "such an upbeat feel to it" and how rare it is for the band to record a song that "I just don't get sick of listening to".^[2][3]

Composition

In light of the death of Fletcher, the "reflective, mid-tempo"^[4] synth-pop song^[5] sees the two members commenting on motifs of death: the fragility of life and the possibility of an afterlife.^[2] Throughout the song, the duo keeps reminding the listener that every life will eventually turn into "ghosts again".^[6] However, it also gives the idea of being reunited with one another in some form, possibly as "ghosts".^[7]

Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs is co-credited with lyrics and composition alongside Martin Gore.^[8]

Chart performance

"Ghosts Again" has gained both commercial and critical acclaim. In the United States, the song reached number 9 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. It was Depeche Mode's first top ten single on that chart since "It's No Good" in 1997.^[9] The song's appearance on the chart made Depeche Mode one of the few acts to have charted at least one song on Alternative Airplay in every decade since its launch in 1988.^[10]

Live release

A live version of "Ghosts Again" from Depeche Mode's Memento Mori World Tour was released as a single in November 2025 to promote the live album Memento Mori: Mexico City.^{[citation needed]}

Critical reception

Atwood Magazine praised the song, saying, "The aching stark beauty of the song and video is one to be unfurled within your own existence in pondering the spheres of life and death while seizing the fleeting time that life offers us. In this new single, we witness Depeche Mode writing and creating music that continues to set them into their own stratosphere of music that is like no other—an unparalleled band that always enables us to consider our own existence with greater forms of clarity and insight on the joy and melancholy of the human condition. 'Ghosts Again' is a sublime reveal by Depeche Mode, with Gore and Gahan aspiring to new heights of their creative powers in creating a song of perfection for the ages."^[11]

Music magazine Clash was positive on the composition stating, "Taken from the LP, new song 'Ghosts Again' pivots between light and shade, the imposing crunch of the electronics lit up by some distant form of hope. Expertly done, it finds Depeche Mode drawing on their decades of experiences, while also embracing new ideas... Challenging and emotive, it's also a pop song, with the English legends refusing to stray too far from their roots."^[12]

Damien Morris of The Guardian praised the song, saying "Gore's say-what-you-see lyrics are always best on the essentials of life—sex and death—and 'Ghosts Again' is the pair's best single in aeons, a singalong meditation on mortality that's concise and powerful."^[13]

Music video

The music video for "Ghosts Again" was filmed in New York City and released on 9 February 2023. It was directed by longtime visual collaborator Anton Corbijn.^[14] The story focuses on Gore and Gahan reenacting the chess game with Death in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1958) on an urban rooftop.^[6] It alternates with scenes of the two performing in a cemetery.^[15]

Remixes

In May 2023, several remixes of "Ghosts Again" were released, including by Chris Liebing, Luke Slater, Rival Consoles, Matthew Herbert and Davide Rossi.^[16][17][18]

Personnel

Personnel taken from Sound on Sound.^[19]

• Dave Gahan – vocals
• Martin Gore – synthesisers, drum machine, guitar, vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1. ^ Reis, Samantha (10 February 2023). "Depeche Mode share 'Ghosts Again', the first single from upcoming album". We Rave You. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
2. ^ Potter, Jordan (10 February 2023). "Depeche Mode share promising new single 'Ghosts Again'". Far Out. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
3. ^ JorgeM93 (10 February 2023). "Depeche Mode Release New Single 'Ghosts Again', Share Details on Upcoming Album". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
4. ^ Rowley, Glenn (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode Finally Drops New Single 'Ghosts Again,' Reveals Album Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
5. ^ "Depeche Mode und "Ghosts Again": Das sind die Musik-Highlights der Woche" (in German). Blick.de. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
6. ^ "Depeche Mode, Ghosts Again: the lyrics & their meaning". Auralcrave. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
7. ^ Ivie, Devon (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode Say Good-bye With 'Ghosts Again'". Vulture. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
8. ^ Brandon, Chris (9 February 2023). ""Ghosts Again" is Depeche Mode's best song in years". Synthpop Fanatic. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
9. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (7 April 2023). "Depeche Mode in Alternative Airplay Top 10 for First Time Since 1997". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
10. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (23 February 2023). "Depeche Mode Becomes Second Act With Entries in Every Decade of Alternative Airplay Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
11. ^ Buyze, David (11 February 2023). "The Sublime Reveal of "Ghosts Again," Depeche Mode's Joyfully Melancholic New Song". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
12. ^ Murray, Robin (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode's 'Ghosts Again' Is A "Balance Of Melancholy And Joy"". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
13. ^ Morris, Damien (19 March 2023). "Depeche Mode: Memento Mori review – a life-affirming farewell for Fletch". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
14. ^ Trendell, Andrew (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode share new single 'Ghosts Again' and details of new album 'Memento Mori'". NME. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
15. ^ Bloom, Madison & Arcand, Rob (9 February 2023). "Depeche Mode Detail New Album, Share Video for New Song "Ghosts Again": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
16. ^ Gotto, Connor (2023-05-06). "Depeche Mode release Ghosts Again remix bundle". RETROPOP. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
17. ^ Krol, Charlotte (2023-05-06). "Listen to Depeche Mode's 'Ghosts Again (Remixes)'". NME. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
18. ^ Iahn, Buddy (2023-05-05). "Depeche Mode releasing 'Ghosts Again (Remixes)'". The Music Universe. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
19. ^ Paul Tingen (June 2023). "Inside Track: Depeche Mode 'Memento Mori'". Sound on Sound
20. ^ "Latvijas radio stacijās spēlētākās dziesmas TOP" (in Latvian). LAIPA. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
21. ^ "OLiS – oficjalna lista airplay" (Select week 18.03.2023–24.03.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
22. ^ "Top 50 – Radio San Marino RTV – 23/04/2023" (in Italian). San Marino RTV. 23 April 2023. Archived 2023-04-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
23. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 7". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
24. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 (17 November 2023 – 23 November 2023)". Official Charts Company. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
25. ^ "YEAR-END CHARTS: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (2023)". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
26. ^ "YEAR-END CHARTS: Rock & Alternative Airplay Songs (2023)". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2023.