HUMAN LEAGUE
Secrets (Ark21)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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What a nice surprise! Be honest, now; are you expecting much from Human League's first album of all-original material in six years? It would be difficult for a group like them to make a new statement at all, and yet Secrets, originally released last year on Papillon and now seeing wider distribution on Ark21 Records, announces Human Leagues arrival in the 21st century as a vital, creative force. Instead of listening to their old albums, they've obviously spent their time embracing the new technologies. What once were sequenced beeps are now deep synth-bass grooves with sampled atmospheric layers around them, not toy-like but powerful, creating the perfect music to carry the fine voices of Philip Oakey, Susan Ann Gayle and JoAnne Catherall. Kudos to keyboardists Neil Sutton and David Beevers for putting Human League back in the game. With songs as strong as "All I Ever Wanted," "Love Me Madly," "Liar," and the only songs that really thread back to their synth-pop days, "You'll Be Sorry" and "Sin City," the League has made something to be proud of. Hopefully, their fans won't demand they stay the same band that sang "Don't You Want Me, Baby?", but this has probably already started winning them new fans anyway. My guess is the European dance hall walls are echoing with this stuff.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson