Marc Almond and David Ball are set to release their first Soft Cell record in 25 years, Happiness Not Included, in February of 2022. Ahead of the release the long-running synth-pop duo have released the album’s first official single “Bruises On My Illusion”.
The song is classic Soft Cell dark cabaret. Driven by a sordid organ synth and pulsing drum beats, and Marc Almond crooning lyrics such as “when every day is Soviet gray”, the imagery spun the catchy melody paints a deliciously bleak portrait of the song’s protagonist.
As Marc Almond explains, “‘Bruises On My Illusions” is a mini film noir Soft Cell story about a disillusioned character with everything against him or her who still has hope for a better future, despite the odds. A darker ‘Bedsitter’. Dave’s ominous yet punchy defiant chords inspired the song.”
Dave Ball adds, “One of our darker cinematic pop moments with a classic Marc Almond lyric”.
Listen to “Bruises On My Illusion” below:
The new Soft Cell album Happiness Not Included, will be available on CD, Vinyl, and Deluxe Formats, and will feature a dozen brand new Marc Almond and Dave Ball songs. Previously, the band released a preview track (non-single) of the song “Heart Like Chernobyl” to celebrate the pre-order launch on August 13th.
Tracklist:
Live Dates:
Toronto shoegaze outfit Rituals first stirred to life in 2009, a quiet experiment in Adam Seward’s small, dim room, where…
Filled with fire Come to me Suspended with so much pleasure No matter how scared we may be To live…
Be a starlight once more that guides me in the dead of night and when your fire weakens I shall…
Sarcophagus golden carcass Sarcophagus rigor mortis Drenched in cataclysm and curled in dystopian dread, Qual—William Maybelline’s fierce alter ego—seizes the…
Skin sloughed off Exposed rot Sickness spied Wet, weak eyes Lacerated soul Psychodermatology is a medical field that studies the…
Loving something you shouldn’t is like clutching a live wire—painful, charged, and impossible to release. You know it’s wrong, yet…