The first full-length studio release in 20 years for British synth-pop duo Soft Cell features a song collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys.

The Wire (80) – Almond – who recorded his vocals while recovering from Covid – sounds audibly frail at times. But this works in the album’s favour, working humanity into the glossiness. The most effective tracks are those with sparse backing, such as “Polaroid” and the drolly misanthropic “I’m Not A Friend Of God”.

Uncut (80) – While these dozen faithfully and fabulously Soft Cell-ish songs do not stint on paranoid foreboding, they are buoyed by an undimmed pop instinct and Almond’s waspish wit.

Under The Radar (70) – While not quite in the same bracket as the ground breaking Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, *Happiness Not Included provides a welcome – if mature – diversion to the horrors and evils that surround us.

musicOMH.com (50) – They’ve had their day doing one thing, they now need to do another, and while further albums are even less likely than this one, Happiness Not Included feels like something of a missed opportunity.