Secret Codes and Battleships

''Secret Codes and Battleships'' is the fourth studio album from Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hayes. It was released 21 October 2011 on Mercury Records in Australia, on EMI Records in the United Kingdom on 24 October, and on his own label Powdered Sugar for the rest of the world on 25 October.

Background

Prior to making the album, Hayes had been given the task of writing songs for other people, such as Simon Cowell. During this process however, he realised he was making songs for himself. He then announced in early 2009 that he had begun making a new album. Hayes has described the record as revolving around relationships, as described in the first single "Talk Talk Talk". According to Hayes, "Black Out the Sun" was written around 2008, and was originally written for Leona Lewis. Hayes began recording the album in 2009. He worked with producers such as Walter Afanasieff, who he had not worked with since '' Spin'', and Carl Falk, a well-known Swedish synthpop producer. In early 2010 he announced he was returning to the studio despite having completed the album and was going to write more songs. Hayes documented the process through a series of "Making of" videos, in which snippets of several songs from the new album could be heard. The album was mixed by Robert Orton, best known for his work with Lady Gaga. Work was completed on the album in mid-2010. Hayes has said that it will be a pop album, and likened it to the first Savage Garden record.

Release

Originally, the album was set for a mid-2010 release. This was later changed to early 2011, with a single due late 2010. Eventually, the album was confirmed to be set for an October 2011 release. Hayes announced that the album is to be released in 3 formats. A Regular and Deluxe edition which be available in all music stores and a Collectors Edition which will only be sold via his online webstore. The Collectors Edition is to include a 2-CD set, a violet 12" vinyl, a full 12" 32-page booklet and 1 of 4 lithographs. Beginning in mid-2011, a series of coded messages were presented on Hayes' website, along with a piece of artwork. Fans could submit their decoded messages, and each piece of artwork and code was made into a physical item which Hayes signed and sent to whoever decoded the text. On 18 September 2011, a secret code campaign was announced. Four divided parts of a code were placed inside separate bottles and deposited in various places around the globe. The four people who found the code each received a Collector's Edition of the album and a personal phone call from Hayes himself. Also, the four pieces of the code could be put together to unlock a part of the album. The first piece was located in Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia. The second was Mercatino Dell'usato at Porta Maggorie in Rome, Italy. The third was found in Mermaid Inn in New York City, The fourth and final code was discovered in the Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill, London, UK. On 3 October 2011, the resulting code-broken "piece of the album" was revealed; a preview video containing short snippets of the full 12-track album. Darren toured both Australia and the UK for this album with "The Secret Tour" during October and November 2011. These performances received very positive reviews, and his talents praised by the media. He has also said that he may continue touring the album in 2012.

Reception

The album received positive reviews. Jon O'Brien of AllMusic was positive on the album and gave it three-and-half-stars out of five and called it "his most commercial since 2002 debut '' Spin''" and wrote: "It remains to be seen whether Hayes is a little too late to win back the millions of fans who worshipped his previous wedding dance favorites, but by limiting his experimental tendencies and focusing on the kind of intelligent synth pop he does best, he's given himself a fighting chance." Robert Copsey of '' Digital Spy'' praised the album, particularly for the instrumentality of the tracks and the falsetto of Hayes. Copsey also claimed that the album could have easily been a Savage Garden comeback album. Jordy Kasko of ''The Tune'', however, considered the album to be "sterile", and had also claimed that " Black Out the Sun" would have been a worldwide hit if it was performed by Leona Lewis, whom Hayes originally wrote the song for. Natalie Shaw of BBC
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