SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SOFT CELL – DANCETERIA

SOFT CELL
DANCETERIA
REPUBLIC OF MUSIC

Soft Cell’s latest album, Danceteria is a very bittersweet album. Listening to it, it seems very sad knowing that this is the last album by Soft Cell. Dave Ball (who provides the instrumentation for this and all of Soft Cell’s albums) passed away in 2025 just after completing the album. That fact makes listening to the album a heartbreaking experience. However, it does not take away the brilliance of the music and lyrics. Marc Almond provides his usual stunning vocals to Ball’s dark and heavy music. It is the perfect combination. This is their first album since 2022’s *Happiness Not Included. It is a perfect companion to their debut album (1981’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret) musically and lyrically. Given this is the last word from Soft Cell, it bookends their career perfectly.

Soft Cell has always been known for their heavy, dark synth-pop sound with Almond singing for and about the people who are not always noticed or appreciated by society. However, Danceteria is more than that, this is a reflective album to a distinct time in their and our history. Almond revisits the New York City that he and Ball arrived in in 1981 to record their debut. Almond reaches into his memories (and imagination) for songs such as “Times Square” or the title track, “Danceteria.” These are not melancholic memories, but rather celebratory. Even a song such as “The Rainbow Room,” which is about a doomed relationship and a city that will be rocked 20 years later, is moving and sad but at the same time there is a beauty. Ball provides the perfect soundtrack to Almond’s story, and the saxophone and feeling brings to mind “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”.

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But unlike their debut that ends with “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye,” Soft Cell decided to end the album on a celebratory note with a cover of Was (Not Was)’s “Out Come The Freaks,” which features the wonderful Nona Hendryx. Her voice, alongside Almond and Ball’s, is note-perfect and brings a great deal of energy. The energy and heat from the song are absolutely perfect. The album opens and closes with a heavy dance sound. The result is a very upbeat album with stories in between the dancing.

Danceteria is not a concept album, but it is a thematic album about New York City, circa 1981. Almond does not paint a rosy picture of the city, nor does he make it look extra rough. He does, however, write about his memories, his loves, his passion, and the impact the city had on him and Ball’s music. Soft Cell was never a singles band, although they had many hit singles, their best moments tended to be deeper cuts on albums. With Danceteria there are no weak moments. Both Almond and Ball are at the top of their game with this one and it is both a beautiful and sad way to end this chapter.

Soft Cell Links

Marc Almond Links