Happiness Not Included

*Happiness Not Included
Studio album by
Soft Cell
Released6 May 2022 (2022-05-06)
RecordedJanuary 2020 – March 2021
StudiosDean Street, London
GenreSynth-pop
Length55:04
LabelBMG
Producers
Soft Cell chronology
The Bedsit Tapes
(2005)		 *Happiness Not Included
(2022)		 Danceteria
(2026)
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). 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.

In 2023, two companion albums were released to accompany the album: Happiness Now Completed, which features additional tracks and remixes recorded during the album sessions, and Happiness Now Extended, which features extended versions of all of the original album's tracks.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100
Review scores
SourceRating
The GuardianStarStarStarStar
The IndependentStarStarStar
The Line of Best Fit7/10
MojoStarStarStarStar
musicOMHStarStarHalf star
The TelegraphStarStarStarStar
Uncut8/10

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

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)51
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)175
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)55
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)12
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)5
Spanish Albums (Promusicae)37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)86
UK Albums (Official Charts)7
UK Dance Albums (Official Charts)1
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)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. 1 2 "*Happiness Not Included by Soft Cell Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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 on 13/5/2022 – 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 on 13/5/2022 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  20. ↑ "Official Dance Albums Chart on 13/5/2022 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 13/5/2022 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2022.