New Entry: Soft Cell Unveil New Single "Heart Like Chernobyl"(

British synth pop/new wave duo Soft Cell (Marc Almond & Dave Ball)) have unveiled their new single "Heart Like Chernobyl".

The song is taken from their forthcoming album '*Happiness Not Included', their first in 20 years, set to be released on February 25 2022. Pre-order your copy here.

Heart Like Chernobyl finds vocalist Marc Almond the focus as he tackles politics, relationships and issues with the media as their trademark synth-pop soundscape takes more of a backseat. Producer/instrumentalist Dave Ball said:

"When I wrote the music to 'Heart Like Chernobyl' it was at the height of lockdown and I had been alone for about 6 weeks. I was feeling a bit Joy Division and recalled their track Isolation. I played, programmed and recorded the track digitally in my home studio - Kitchen Sink Drama. The track title was Marc's idea, as was the subject matter."

Watch a lyric video below.

(facebook.com/softcellband)

Tags: Soft Cell

TOY Announce 'Songs Of Consumption' Collection, Share "Fun City"

London-based indie rock/psychedelic band TOY have announced 'Songs Of Consumption', an 8-song collection of unique interpretations of tracks which have inspired the band.

The self-produced album will be out on 15th November. Pre-order your copy here.

Talking about it, TOY said: "Songs of Consumption sonically is a continuation and development of the themes conceived on Happy In The Hollow and it will show people where we are going towards musically. The DIY approach was explored further utilising more of the electronic elements that we touched upon before. Drum machines, stripped down arrangements and rudimentary production give a primitive sound that we thought suited the choice of songs. Some of the songs have very big sounding production, so we wanted to experiment with them by going in a different direction.

Music is consumed voraciously now whereas these songs came from a time when the song was of the most important thing and that's what was appreciated. Stripping them back to the essence of what they are was also something we wanted to explore. Also, we wanted to make a covers record with songs by people that influenced us in the past few years and it’s as much about the way they dealt with their ideas, and how they put themselves in uncomfortable situations in order to make something that in the end is simple. It’s a homage to the spirit of these people, that helped us to untangle ourselves from our inherent complicated nature and create a new space where we can exist."

Check out the album's tracklist and watch the video for their take of Soft Cell’s "Fun City" below.

Songs Of Consumption Tracklist:
01. Down On The Street (The Stooges)
02. Follow Me (Amanda Lear)
03. Sixty Forty (Nico)
04. Cousin Jane (The Troggs)
05. Fun City (Soft Cell)
06. Lemon Incest (Charlotte Gainsbourg & Serge Gainsbourg)
07. Always On My Mind (B.J. Thomas)
08. A Dolls House (John Barry)

(facebook.com/toy.band)

Tags: TOY

Watch: Soft Cell Release "Northern Lights" Music Video

British synth pop/new wave duo Soft Cell have released the video for their newest single "Northern Lights".

The song, their first since 2002, is described by the band’s singer, Marc Almond, as “a celebration of our roots in northern soul”, and is taken from their forthcoming compilation 'The Singles: Keychains & Snowstorms' out this Friday (September 28)via Universal Music Catalogue. Grab it here.

The video was filmed at Manchester’s legendary Twisted Wheel soul club, it even features a cast of extras from the original Twisted Wheel scene of the late-‘60s and ‘70s.

Watch it below.

(facebook.com/softcellband)

Tags: Soft Cell