Credo (The Human League album)

Credo
Studio album by The Human League
Released	21 March 2011 (Europe) 16 August 2011 (US digital) 23 August 2011 (US physical)
Recorded	2010 at Human League Studios, Sheffield, England
Genre	Synthpop
Label	Wall of Sound
Producer	Dean Honer, Jarrod Gosling
The Human League chronology
Secrets (2001) Credo (2011)
Singles from Credo
"Night People" Released: 22 November 2010 "Never Let Me Go" Released: 1 March 2011 "Egomaniac (Europe)" Released: 4 March 2011 "Sky" Released: 25 July 2011

Credo is the ninth studio album by The Human League. It is their first studio album since Secrets in 2001.^[1] It has been produced by fellow Sheffield act I Monster^[2] and is released on Wall of Sound.

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" is 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 Friday 4 March and the single was released the same day. In those three territories the album itself was released on Friday 11 March in order to narrow the gap between the TV airing and the album being available. In the rest of the EU the album was released on Monday 21 March in order to narrow the gap between the release in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the rest of the continent.

Credo was digitally released in the United States on August 16, 2011, with a physical release one week later.^[3]

Production

After the commercial failure of their previous album, Secrets,^[4] the band decided to concentrate on their live appearances and forgo a contract with a major label.^[5] After seven years of working live venues, Philip Oakey and Rob Barton decided the band needed new material.^[6] These new tracks caught the attention of Mark Jones, founder of Wall of Sound.^[7]

Teaming up with Sheffield based electronic act I Monster,^[8] the band decided to cater the album mainly toward the dance scene.^[9]

The band decided to retain an earlier feel to some of the tracks, including "Privilege" (which they wanted to "sit next to Being Boiled" and "fixed in 1978"),^[10] but welcomed I Monster's heavy resequencing on others, including "Sky".^[11] Oakey notes I Monster's contribution to the album stating in an interview with John Doran of The Quietus, "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."^[12]

Critical reception

The album has received mixed reviews. 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."^[13] Musicweek compared Credo to "a latter period Pet Shop Boys album."^[14]

However, there have been many favourable reviews. One being the Glasswerk National review, which said "Credo manages to make itself heard above the brashest state-of-the-art pop productions and brings some of that primitive essence to the milieu, as well as The Human League’s unique quality of apartness." ^[15] Gay Times has awarded 'Credo' with 5/5 and has been hailed as an 'incredible pop offering'.^[16] Mixmag praised the album for being "crisp, dynamic and upbeat, with contemporary electronic pop sheen".^[17] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian remarked "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."^[18] MusicOMH 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".^[19]

Both singles released from the album failed to chart, however "Never Let Me Go" received substantial airplay on BBC Radio 2. The album itself charted at #44 on the UK Albums Chart. A double vinyl edition was released on 25 July 2011, together with the download of "Sky", the third single from the album.

Track listing

Written by Robert Barton and Philip Oakey, except where noted^[20]

1. "Never Let Me Go" (Barton/Honer/Gosling/Oakey)
2. "Night People"
3. "Sky"
4. "Into the Night"
5. "Egomaniac"
6. "Single Minded"
7. "Electric Shock" (Barton/Honer/Gosling/Oakey)
8. "Get Together"
9. "Privilege"
10. "Breaking the Chains"
11. "When the Stars Start to Shine"

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[21]	85
Belgian Heatseekers Albums Chart (Wallonia)[22]	3
German Albums Chart[23]	57
UK Albums Chart[24]	44

References

1. ^ "Forgive us our synths – how 80s pop found favour again". Guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/18/synth-pop-80s-omd-heaven17. Retrieved 2010-11-18. 
2. ^ "The Human League New Album Details". Quietus.com. http://thequietus.com/articles/05197-news-the-human-league-new-album-details. Retrieved 2010-11-18. 
3. ^ "The Human League sets ‘Credo’ U.S. release, debate with Men Without Hats, B-52s". Concertnews.co. http://concertnews.co/the-human-league-sets-%E2%80%98credo%E2%80%99-u-s-release-tour-with-men-without-hats-b-52s/. Retrieved 2011-07-31. 
4. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=48338
5. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
6. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
7. ^ http://www.wallofsound.net/about_team.php?id=13
8. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
9. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
10. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
11. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
12. ^ http://thequietus.com/articles/05685-this-is-phil-and-joanne-and-susan-talking-the-human-league-interview
13. ^ "Mojo's Credo Review". Mojo Magazine. http://www.humanleagueforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?id=1732&p=1. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
14. ^ "Musicweek's Credo Review". Musicweek. http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=20&storycode=1043962&c=1. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
15. ^ "Glasswerk National's Credo Review". Musicweek. http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/news/national/12308/The+Human+League+Reveal+Album+Artwork+And+Tracklisting. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
16. ^ "New European release date for 'Credo' and a brand new single". Electronically Yours. http://www.league-online.com/. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
17. ^ "Mixmag's Credo Review". Mixmag. http://twitpic.com/41ev7w. Retrieved 2011-02-11. 
18. ^ "Guardian's Credo Review". Guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/17/human-league-credo-review. Retrieved 2011-03-11. 
19. ^ "MusicOMH's Credo Review". MusicOMH. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/human-league-2_0311.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-11. 
20. ^ "Album details". NME.com. http://www.nme.com/news/the-human-league/54061. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
21. ^ "The Human League – Credo" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Human+League&titel=Credo&cat=a. Retrieved 8 July 2011. 
22. ^ "The Human League – Credo" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Human+League&titel=Credo&cat=a. Retrieved 8 July 2011. 
23. ^ http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Human+League%2CThe/11153/longplay
24. ^ "Chart Stats – The Human League – Credo". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=50085. Retrieved 29 March 2011. 

External links

• Official Wall of Sound site