Cruelty Without Beauty is Dionysian synth-pop duo Soft Cell's first album since 1984. During the early 1980s, Marc Almond and Dave Ball deftly fused Suicide, Sparks, Motown, Northern Soul, Georgio Moroder and a dash of Judy Garland to form sleazy, provocatively sexual, electronic dance music. Sensibly, they've resisted the temptation to go garage or nu-metal, and with electroclash de rigeur, are remarkably, if slightly fortuitously, contemporary. Ball, the prince of synths, creates a series of electro-soundscapes ranging from minimalist to Wagnerian. Lyrically, Almond continues his exploration of the squalid underbelly of urban lives. Indeed, in the mascara-stained, Autumnal lament "Last Chance" he even provides a sequel to "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye". The opening couplet to "Whatever It Takes" ("I'm having a mid-life crisis, Behaving in strange ways, Wandering around the supermarket in a daze") is typical of the album. Almond articulates all this desperate disintegration with his endearingly wobbly warble, injecting palpable pathos, while cannily side-stepping camp melodrama. It's time to say hello again. --Chris King
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