While Soft Cell’s second album ended what had been a white hot commercial streak with their debut and associated singles, The Art of Falling Apart, if not a wall to wall triumph like Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, was remarkably strong still, the Marc Almond/Dave Ball partnership conjuring up magic out of electronic arrangements and a perfect air of desperation and drive. The domestic warzone of “Where the Heart Is” was complemented with another song called “Kitchen Sink Drama,” while “Numbers,” especially in AIDS’s growing shadow, counted the costs of desire.

– Ned Raggett