Secrets (The Human League album)

Secrets is the eighth studio album recorded by British synthpop band The Human League. It was issued in 2001 by Papillon Records and was the Human League's first studio album in six years. As with their previous album Octopus, the band was presented as a trio of singers Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley (credited by her married name Susan Ann Gayle, which she would later drop professionally in October 2007), although band member Neil Sutton also contributed songwriting and keyboard parts. Secrets received a delayed release in the United States the following year.

Contents

• Track listing
• Songs
• References

The album contains sixteen tracks, seven of which are short, instrumental transitional compositions. Upon its release Secrets earned mixed reviews from music critics, although commercial success was hampered due to the bankruptcy of Papillon (a division of Chrysalis Records) shortly after its release. The first single "All I Ever Wanted" returned the Human League to the UK singles chart after a five-year absence peaking at a disappointing number forty-seven.

In 2003, after the collapse of Papillon Records, a follow-up single from Secrets, "Love Me Madly?," was released privately by Michiel Van Bokhorst's Nukove Records, a company set up especially to release Human League records.

Billboard commented on the redundant lyrics and weak refrains. They wrote: "Seven instrumental interludes offer some respite from uninspired lyrics. But there's little new ground broken here. And one key ingredient of Human League's recipe is lacking: irresistible hooks that drove such hits as "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" and "Human."