Happiness Not Included
*Happiness Not Included | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 6 May 2022 | |||
Recorded | January 2020 – March 2021 | |||
Studio | Dean Street, London | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 55:04 | |||
Label | BMG | |||
Producer |
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Soft Cell chronology | ||||
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Singles from *Happiness Not Included | ||||
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*Happiness Not Included is the fifth studio album by British synth-pop duo Soft Cell, released on 6 May 2022 through BMG Rights Management. It is their first studio album in 20 years, following Cruelty Without Beauty (2002).[1] It was preceded by the release of the single "Bruises on All My Illusions" in 2021 as well as "Purple Zone" in 2022, the latter a collaboration with fellow British synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys.[2]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 78/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The Guardian | [4] |
The Independent | [5] |
The Line of Best Fit | 7/10[6] |
Mojo | [7] |
musicOMH | [8] |
The Telegraph | [9] |
Uncut | 8/10[10] |
On review aggregator Metacritic, *Happiness Not Included received a score of 78 out of 100 based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[3] Dave Simpson of The Guardian called it a "wryly hopeful record" with "some trademark electro bangers".[4] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Chris Todd summarised the "flavour" of the album as "one of world weariness peppered with salacious reflections of tales of past".[6] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent remarked on the downbeat nature of the lyrics, writing that while Soft Cell "were hardly upbeat to begin with, [...] this is downright miserable" although acknowledging that they "have good reason to be" and concluding that "it's not all hopeless – at least the music is good".[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Marc Almond and David Ball except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Happy Happy Happy" | 4:46 |
2. | "Polaroid" | 4:41 |
3. | "Bruises on All My Illusions" | 4:45 |
4. | "Purple Zone" (with Pet Shop Boys) | 3:11 |
5. | "Heart Like Chernobyl" | 3:24 |
6. | "Light Sleepers" | 4:41 |
7. | "*Happiness Not Included" | 4:55 |
8. | "Nostalgia Machine" | 4:34 |
9. | "Nighthawks" | 5:14 |
10. | "I'm Not a Friend of God" | 4:34 |
11. | "Tranquiliser" | 3:50 |
12. | "New Eden" | 6:29 |
Total length: | 55:04 |
Charts
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] | 51 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] | 175 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] | 55 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] | 12 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] | 5 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[16] | 37 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 86 |
UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 7 |
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[19] | 1 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20] | 2 |
References
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (28 July 2021). "Soft Cell Announce *Happiness Not Included, First New Album in 20 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Krol, Charlotte (22 March 2022). "Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys share dazzling synthpop collaboration 'Purple Zone'". NME. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b "*Happiness Not Included by Soft Cell Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ a b Simpson, Dave (6 May 2022). "Soft Cell: *Happiness Not Included review – synth-pop elders with an eye on the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Roisin (7 May 2022). "Album reviews: Sigrid – It Gets Dark, and Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b Todd, Chris (6 May 2022). "Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included | Album Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Buckley, David (July 2022). "Their first studio album since 2002". Mojo. No. 344. p. 93.
- ^ Marsh, Graeme (4 May 2022). "Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Hall, James (6 May 2022). "Arcade Fire rule the world, Soft Cell return at last – the week's best albums". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ Mueller, Andrew (April 2022). "Like they've never been away". Uncut. No. 299. p. 35.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2022.