Happiness Not Included

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*Happiness Not Included
File:Soft Cell - Happiness Not Included.png
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) 		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).[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

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
The GuardianStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[5]
The IndependentStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[6]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[7]
MojoStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[8]
musicOMHStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[9]
The TelegraphStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[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

[edit | edit source]

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

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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

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  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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