Steady With The SAULT

It should perhaps come as no surprise that SAULT dropped another surprise new album on Friday (9th).

Titled Chapter 1 - also a characteristic tease of multiple releases in 2026? - it's a brisk, 36-minute, 10-track collection that's every bit as slick and polished as we have come to expect from the...well, no longer so mysterious collective.

And the whiff of familiarity is perhaps both a blessing and a curse on SAULT's 15 (!) album since 2019. For the devoted, Chapter 1 continues to deliver on the promise of previous albums and whilst not with an eye on dominating the airwaves or singles charts, there is something pleasingly reassuring in the overall warm hug of the album.

For the most part, it's business as usual: joining producer Inflo are seasoned SAULT professionals Cleo Sol, Jack Peñate and Melissa Young (formerly known as Kid Sister). Also present and correct is the consummate use of strings, bass and percussion to create a groovy yet heart-tugging soundscape.

On first listen, the lyrics follow a well-ploughed furrow of affirmation and/or devotion, with characteristic repetition of a few - sometimes just a single - line throughout the song. SAULT are canny enough to know how much is enough, so for me at least this never outstays it's welcome and gets boring.

There are no credits on the Bandcamp page accompanying the album, so the only other surprise is reading that US writing and production legends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have been involved in the creation of Chapter 1. I've no idea to what extent and, if I hadn't read about it online, I'd never have guessed their presence from a casual listen. 

Chapter 1 is very much follows the SAULT template and any members of the collective fall in line with the ethos rather than stretch or pull it into different shapes.

With the increasing demystification of SAULT, including some less than favourable reviews of their live performance (only their second ever) at the All Points East festival last year, it's reasonable that even the surprise drop of a new album lacks the impact and shock value of their earlier releases.

Which would be a shame and, for all of that, Chapter 1 is a really good album and, compared to previous releases like Earth, AIR and AIIR, is designed for repeat listening. 

Is Chapter 1 likely to be my favourite SAULT album? No. 

It Chapter 1 what we need right here, right now in 2026? Absolutely.

 

New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times

Long overdue on these pages, here's The Human League with a selection of 12" versions, remixes and re-edits spanning 1981's classic album Dare to their most recent (though hopefully not final) album Credo in 2011.

The selection kicks off with The Things That Dreams Are Made Of. I first came across the US-based blog DreamTime in the mid-2000s, where predominantly 1980s songs would be spliced and re-edited to create super extended versions. Sometimes they just didn't work, either due to using incompatible mixes or variable vinyl sources; sometimes, they hit the spot. I'd place The Things That Dreams Are Made Of in the latter category, taking elements from the Dare and Love And Dancing* versions to create nearly ten minutes of synthpop greatness. The blog is long gone, but DreamTime is still going strong on Soundcloud, currently featuring the likes of Simple Minds, Heaven 17, Kate Bush, a-ha, Talk Talk and David Bowie.

 

* Yes, I know that the latter is officially The League Unlimited Orchestra and not The Human League, but I'm not complaining.

 

DreamTime's re-edits pay homage to Razormaid and Hot Tracks (in turn inspired by 1970s innovators such as Tom Moulton, Larry Levan and Walter Gibbons) and I've included a couple of examples here. Steven Tucker (Hot Tracks) stretches out (Keep Feeling) Fascination whilst Art Maharg (Razormaid) remixes 1990 comeback single Heart Like A Wheel.

 

There are a few original 1980s extended versions, too: Love Action (I Believe In Love), co-produced with Martin Rushent, appears as the penultimate song on Dare and was segued with Hard Times on the original 12" single in 1981. The Sign first appeared on follow-up album Hysteria and was remixed by Nigel Walker for the 12" single B-side for Louise in 1984. Love Is All That Matters was released as the final single from Crash, produced and co-written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, fresh from working with Janet Jackson on the super successful Control. It was a testing time for the band and fans alike.

 

The Human League's most recent album of new material was Credo, preceded by the single Night People in 2010. Again, there appears to have been a mixed response to the album and it didn't reclaim the commercial success of previous albums, but I like it a lot. Here, the legendary French producer Cerrone (who turned 70 in May - belated happy birthday wishes!) amps up the heavy disco sound of the original.

 

Last but not least, the intriguingly named T.O.E.C. - an acronym for Two On Each Camel, apparently - remix big mid-1990s hit One Man In My Heart, a rare outing for Susanne Sulley on lead vocals. T.O.E.C. are/was Swedish production duo Joakim Björklund and Sören Elonsson and when I hear this remix, I can't help but be reminded of fellow Swedes Ace Of Base and All That She Wants, not a huge surprise as T.O.E.C. produced a couple of tracks on the same album, Happy Nation.

 

I've never seen The Human League live in concert mainly because they had an annoying habit of playing in Bristol on or around my birthday, when I was otherwise engaged. They've just announced an open air concert at Dreamland in Margate in July 2023, featuring support from none other than Marc Almond. I've no plans to go, but it sounds fantastic.

 

1) The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (DreamTime Mix) (2007)

2) (Keep Feeling) Fascination (Digital Mix) (1997)

3) The Sign (Extended Re-Mix) (1984)

4) Love Action (I Believe In Love) (12" Edit/Album Version) (1981)

5) Love Is All That Matters (Extended Remix) (1988)

6) Night People (Cerrone Club Mix) (2010)

7) Heart Like A Wheel (Razormaid Mix) (1990)

8) One Man In My Heart (T.O.E.C. Extended) (1995)

1981: Dare: 4

1984: Louise (12" single): 3

1988: Love Is All That Matters (12" single): 5

1990: This Is Only A Test! Volume 9 (Razormaid CD): 7

1995: One Man In My Heart (CD single): 8

1997: Hot Tracks: The Edge Level 03 (Hot Tracks CD): 2

2007: The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (bootleg MP3): 1

2010: Night People (promo CD): 6

 

New York, Ice Cream, TV, Travel, Good Times (54:28)