April 13, 2021 | 3:43pm ET
Soft Cell have reunited and are prepping the release of their first album in 20 years.
The English synth-pop duo hasn’t released a full-length record since 2002’s Cruelty Without Beauty, but the “Tainted Love” singers appear to have a new one ready to go. In a new Facebook post the pair of Marc Almond and Dave Ball shared on April 12th, they wrote, “Might be something to add to this superb collection of cassettes soon…”, along with a photo of their discography on cassette.
They haven’t shared details about the tracklist, title, or release date, but whenever it arrives, it will be the band’s first offering of new material since their 2018 one-off single “Northern Lights”, which preceded what was billed as their final show at London’s O2 Arena (via Exclaim!). They were cryptic in their latest Facebook teaser, but Ball opened up about the record’s sound in a new interview with the Daily Star.
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“Before the O2 show, Marc and I hadn’t seen each other in about 15 years,” he told the UK paper (via NME). “In the years between, we’ve started to sound mature. The new songs are still catchy, but a lot more worldly-wise.” He went on to say that their sound has shifted a bit from what fans might expect. “We haven’t tried to write another ‘Tainted Love’. Maybe we should!”
“But it’d be inappropriate for two 60-something men to try to write bouncy little pop numbers,” he added. That doesn’t mean we’ve become miserable, and it’s not heavy industrial music either. I’d say the songs are sounding quite minimal, melodic and bass-driven.”
Late last month, the band shared a different post on Facebook that featured photos of them in the studio and a note about the circumstances that bore the record. “So, as if by magic we have well over 20 brand new Marc and Dave songs, and today we sat together in the studio to try and work out which to include,” the band wrote.
“No easy task. What we do know is that we have an album that stands up with the very best of Soft Cell and frankly, that’s all we care about. An album made throughout the impossible circumstances of the last year, but almost the better for it. Messrs Almond and Ball are in high spirits, can’t wait for you to hear it, and we are all super excited about what lies ahead…”
Stay tuned for more details, because it sounds like it’s coming fast down the pipeline.