Credo is the ninth studio album by The Human League, released in 2011. It was their first studio album since Secrets in 2001. It was produced by fellow Sheffield act I Monster and 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" was 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 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 to narrow the gap between the release in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the rest of the continent. The third single, "Sky" was released on 25 July 2011. Credo was digitally released in the United States on 16 August 2011, with a physical release one week later. In 2012 it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.
Production
After the commercial failure of their previous album, Secrets, the band decided to concentrate on their live appearances and forego a contract with a major label. After seven years of working live venues, Philip Oakey and Rob Barton decided the band needed new material. These new tracks caught the attention of Mark Jones, founder of Wall of Sound. Teaming up with Sheffield based electronic act I Monster, the band decided to cater the album mainly toward the dance scene. The band decided to retain an earlier feel to some of the tracks, including "Privilege", but welcomed I Monster's heavy resequencing on others, including "Sky". 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."
Critical reception
The album has received mixed reviews scoring 58 at Metacritic. 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." Musicweek compared Credo to "a latter period Pet Shop Boys album." Favourable reviews included Gay Times, which awarded 'Credo' 5 out of 5 and called it an 'incredible pop offering'. Mixmag praised the album for being "crisp, dynamic and upbeat, with contemporary electronic pop sheen". Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian remarked that "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." 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". The three 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 No. 44 on the UK Albums Chart. A double vinyl edition was released on 25 July 2011.
Track listing
Written by Robert Barton and Philip Oakey, except where noted
