''Credo'' is the ninth studio album by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

band

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

, released on 21 March 2011 by

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

. It was their first studio album since ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' (2001). It was produced by fellow

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

act

I Monster I Monster are an English electronic music duo, composed of the Sheffield based record producers Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling. I Monster and its label Twins of Evil are both named after horror films starring Peter Cushing (i.e., ''I, Monster' ...

. The first single from the album, " Night People" was released on 22 November 2010. Follow-up single "Never Let Me Go" was released on 1 March 2011. "Egomaniac" served as the second single in Germany, Austria and Switzerland because the Human League secured a slot on a major German TV show for a performance of "Egomaniac". The TV programme aired on 4 March and the single was released the same day. In those three territories the album itself was released on 11 March to narrow the gap between the TV airing and the album being available. In the rest of Europe, the album was released on 21 March to narrow the gap between the release in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the rest of the continent. The third single, "Sky" was released on 25 July 2011. ''Credo'' was released digitally in the United States on 16 August 2011, followed by a physical release on 23 August. In 2012, the album was awarded a silver certification from the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

(IMPALA), denoting sales in excess of 20,000 copies across Europe.

Production

Following the commercial underperformance of their previous album, ''

'', the band decided to concentrate on their live appearances and forego a contract with a major label. After seven years of working live venues,

Philip Oakey Philip Oakey (born 2 October 1955) is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and cofounder of British synth-pop band the Human League. Aside from the Human League, Oakey has enjoyed an e ...

and Rob Barton decided the band needed new material. These new tracks caught the attention of Mark Jones, founder of

. Teaming up with

-based electronic act

, the band decided to cater the album mainly toward the dance scene. The band decided to retain an earlier feel to some of the tracks, including "Privilege" (which they wanted to "sit next to

Being Boiled "Being Boiled" is the debut single by the British synthpop band the Human League. Composed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, it has been released several times since 1978, finally becoming a UK top ten hit in 1982. ...

" and "fixed in 1978"), but welcomed I Monster's heavy resequencing on others, including "Sky". Oakey notes I Monster's contribution to the album stating in an interview with John Doran of ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

'', "The first thing he gave us back, 'Sky' we just went, 'Wow, how has he turned that into this?' They've got a really good collection of synths."

Critical reception

The album has received mixed reviews scoring 58 at

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. Mojo magazine said "Will their return to recording prove their relevance, three decades after 1981's epochal, synapse-sparkling ''Dare!''? The hi-gloss but uneven Credo only partially convinces." ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' compared ''Credo'' to "a latter period

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

album." Favourable reviews included ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'', which awarded ''Credo'' five out of five and called it an "incredible pop offering". ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' praised the album for being "crisp, dynamic and upbeat, with contemporary electronic pop sheen". Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' remarked that "Credo sounds like nobody but the Human League: electronics gurgle and whirr, and some fairly memorable melodies surge and flow. The production is sleeker than before." ''

MusicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' declared, "Credo, is a lot of fun, marred only by occasionally bad lyrics. It feels like a defiance of time." and that "it still sounds completely fresh and absolutely The Human League." They also stated that the album is "beguiling". The three singles released from the album failed to chart, however "Never Let Me Go" received substantial airplay on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

. The album itself charted at No. 44 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. A double vinyl edition was released on 25 July 2011.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robert Barton and Philip Oakey, except where noted. # "Never Let Me Go" # " Night People" (Barton, Honer, Gosling, Oakey) # "Sky" # "Into the Night" # "Egomaniac" # "Single Minded" # "Electric Shock" (Barton, Honer, Gosling, Oakey) # "Get Together" # "Privilege" # "Breaking the Chains" # "When the Stars Start to Shine"

Charts

References

External links

Official Wall of Sound site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Credo (The Human League Album) 2011 albums The Human League albums Wall of Sound (record label) albums