Cruelty Without Beauty

Soft Cell’s unexpected early 2000s reunion produced a clutch of songs as well as a full album, one that many long time fans didn’t entirely connect with — simply because both Marc Almond and Dave Ball had pursued their own respective careers and sonic approaches well beyond where This Last Night…in Sodom had left off. The relative crispness and reflective sentiments of Cruelty Without Beauty results in plenty of notable songs throughout however, as can be heard on the wry, annoyed kick of “Monoculture” and the end-of-the-night sentiments of “Last Chance.”