Albums: The Human League

Secrets, Papillon

With their new album, Secrets, The Human League have become the musical equivalent of Austin Powers, thawed out after decades in cryogenic suspension, with their original attitude and aesthetic fully intact. It's quite spooky that they've managed to remain so perfectly still, moving neither one pace forward nor backward from their Dare heyday. Unfortunately, the synth-pop that was once breathtakingly futuristic has become commonplace in the interim, and rather more sophisticated in its ambitions. There are things to admire about Secrets: the way Phil Oakey rhymes "nervous" with "deserves us"; the coinage "Holland Park guerrilla"; and the laudable sense of local pride underpinning tracks such as "Sin City", "Ringinglow" and "The Snake" – the latter a trans-Pennine clarion call seeking to unite town and country in some unspecified celebration. But the hooks here aren't anywhere near as adhesive as "Love Action" and "Don't You Want Me", while the noodly synthesiser instrumentals that punctuate the songs simply interrupt the album's flow. And ultimately, the League's lack of sustained aesthetic growth over the intervening decades (compared with peers such as Depeche Mode) becomes painfully clear when they're reduced to the playground chanting of "Liar" and "You'll Be Sorry"; but then, how could they grow, having long ago opted for charismatic camp over questing creativity?