The album represents a shift in style from the delicate, erotic, dancefloor-friendly pop of their earlier records and contains a more eclectic mix of styles as well, from the Spanish-influenced "L'Esqualita" (inspired by the
drag bar in New York City called "La Escuelita") to the
rockabilly-tinged "Down in the Subway". The thematic elements of the songs are darker, even for Soft Cell, and centre around self-destruction and the breakdown of innocence. "Meet Murder My Angel", according to Almond, is about the mind of a murderer before he slaughters his victim, while "Where Was Your Heart (When You Needed It Most)" centres on a girl who loses all self-esteem after being raped while intoxicated. The first single from the album was "Soul Inside", which reached number 16 on the UK charts in September 1983. "Down in the Subway" was released as the second single, peaking at number 24 in March 1984. The artwork was originally printed entirely in red and gold ink, down to the
liner notes, lyrics,
LP labels, and serial number. The album was largely a critical success, but ultimately received little commercial attention, and has since gone out of print. A remastered version with bonus tracks, which included a 12" single mix of "Soul Inside", a cover version of
the theme from the
James Bond film
You Only Live Twice, and "Her Imagination", cut during a session at the
BBC, was also released. Although physical releases of this version have since gone out of print, digital copies remain available. ==Track listing==