Romantic? by The Human League

Romantic?, the Human League's sixth studio album, came out on Virgin in September 1990, their first new material in four years. Martin Rushent, the producer of their 1981 smash Dare, was back among its several producers, despite having walked out on the Hysteria sessions, and Mark Brydon, later half of Moloko, handled a few tracks. Phil Oakey sings lead, with Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley alongside.

The synths still gleam, but the timing was cruel. The band had slipped a long way since Dare, and on "The Stars Are Going Out" they take stock of their faded fame. "Heart Like a Wheel" gave them a last flicker, number 29 in the UK and 32 in America, but the album stalled at 24 at home, critics were unkind, and Virgin ended the long partnership. They regrouped on East West for Octopus in 1995.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.