Happiness Not Included

*Happiness Not Included
Studio album by
Soft Cell
Released6 May 2022 (2022-05-06)
RecordedJanuary 2020 – March 2021
StudioDean Street, London
GenreSynth-pop
Length55:04
LabelBMG
Producer
Soft Cell chronology
The Bedsit Tapes
(2005) 		*Happiness Not Included
(2022)
Singles from *Happiness Not Included
  1. "Bruises on All My Illusions"
    Released: 17 November 2021
  2. "Purple Zone"
    Released: 22 March 2022
  3. "Nostalgia Machine"
    Released: November 2022
  4. "Light Sleepers"
    Released: December 2022

*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]

In 2023 two companion albums were released to accompany the album. 'Happiness now completed' features additional tracks and remixes recorded during the album sessions & 'Happiness now extended' features extended versions of all the original album tracks.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[5]
The Independent[6]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[7]
Mojo[8]
musicOMH[9]
The Telegraph[10]
Uncut8/10[11]

On review aggregator Metacritic, *Happiness Not Included received a score of 78 out of 100 based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[4] Dave Simpson of The Guardian called it a "wryly hopeful record" with "some trademark electro bangers".[5] 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".[7] 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".[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Marc Almond and David Ball except where noted.

*Happiness Not Included CD track listing
No.TitleLength
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 performance for *Happiness Not Included
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 175
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 55
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 12
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[17] 37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 86
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 7
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[20] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] 2

References

  1. ^ Monroe, Jazz (28 July 2021). "Soft Cell Announce *Happiness Not Included, First New Album in 20 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  2. ^ Krol, Charlotte (22 March 2022). "Soft Cell and Pet Shop Boys share dazzling synthpop collaboration 'Purple Zone'". NME. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Happiness now extended and Happiness now completed Out Now!". softcell.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "*Happiness Not Included by Soft Cell Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b Todd, Chris (6 May 2022). "Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included | Album Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  8. ^ Buckley, David (July 2022). "Their first studio album since 2002". Mojo. No. 344. p. 93.
  9. ^ Marsh, Graeme (4 May 2022). "Soft Cell – Happiness Not Included | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Mueller, Andrew (April 2022). "Like they've never been away". Uncut. No. 299. p. 35.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Soft Cell – *Happiness Not Included". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2022.


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