Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith wrote and produced a number of popular and critically-acclaimed albums in the 1980s and early on 1990s as the backbone of the British New Wave group Tears for Fears. Deriving their proper name from the "primal therapy" of Arthur Janov, the band'due south lyrics were ever filled with psychological and spiritual explorations. In a similar style to contemporary acts like Crowded House, The Style Quango, and Prefab Sprout, Tears for Fears blended synthesizers and keyboards with conventional rock guitars, bass, drums, and crystal-clear vocals. It all came together in radio-friendly but surprisingly sophisticated tracks like "Mad World," "Shout," and "Head Over Heels."

Only the ring'south most famous song remains the 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Dominion the Earth," from the nearly flawless album Songs from the Large Chair. The song remains in heavy rotation on archetype rock radio stations to this twenty-four hour period, hearkening dorsum to Cold State of war politics while proposing the need for a metaphysics to govern all secular ability. The band offers united states a soulful ethical claiming, perhaps channeling Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn'south famous 1978 voice communication at Harvard. Smith sings, "Assistance me brand the almost of freedom and of pleasure. Nothing ever lasts forever." Appropriately, the band recently played their signature vocal on the Tardily Show with Stephen Colbert on the night Russia invaded Ukraine.

When Orzabal and Smith parted ways in 1991, Orzabal continued to make music on his own equally Tears for Fears; but at long last, the pair have reunited, producing The Tipping Point, a welcome drove of new songs that are just equally rich and timely as the all-time stuff from their prime.

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Boot off with "No Small Thing," the music builds from a simple acoustic anthem reminiscent of Billy Bragg into a lush, melodic exploration of interior freedom in the historic period of competing sources of information. "Yous're my way out of hell," Orzabal sings. The championship track, "Tipping Bespeak," comes next, welcoming us with a delicate electronic intro before giving way to a layering of harmonies and production elements that would fit nicely on Big Chair. Every bit usual, the lyrics go much deeper than a typical pop song, exploring Orzabal'due south grief over the expiry of his wife in 2017 (the first of several songs dealing with her demise as a effect of alcoholism, depression, and dementia). Orzbal sings, "Who's that ghost knocking at my door? You know that I tin't love y'all more." In the celebrity days of MTV, the music video might accept made an artistic argument in the vein of Peter Gabriel.

The band has said that "Break the Man" is about "toxic patriarchy," and information technology features the platitude "this is not who we are." But the song is no moralistic tirade, and information technology rapidly develops into a catchy, conventional appreciation of the fairer sex. Men should but be grateful for the women who humble them and are superior to them in so many ways. "This is love," Orzabal and Smith proclaim. Hear, hear. "My Demons" is the least interesting track musically, simply the lyrics are provocative. Amidst the dehumanizing influences of the materialistic, high-tech First World, we call up, "These homo hands need a man affect."

"Rivers of Mercy" is the centerpiece of the tape, weaving lyrically from a bleak picture of our world to a more hopeful vision of the victory of divine beloved. Orzabal sings, "I too ofttimes see the world through a veil of tears," naturally evoking in Catholics the homophone "vale of tears" from the Salve Regina. Theological richness proceeds from there, as the singer longs for healing from "manna from heaven" and immersion in "the infinite body of water." Orzabal asks, "Dare I imagine some faith and agreement?" as the track builds from a piano ballad to a throw-back '80s groove with haunting backing vocals before finishing in a soaring, multi-instrumental prayer. Press the back button and play this i a few extra times.

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"Please Be Happy" follows next, taking usa from an ethereal high dorsum down into Orzabal'due south expression of loss. This beautiful song features the devastating reassurance, "the world won't interruption autonomously as easy as the glass you lot dropped and smashed when yous tried to climb the stairs." The next track, "Principal Programme," would as well fit well on an before Tears for Fears album, with an incredibly catchy chorus that evokes the Beatles "I am the Walrus." And here over again, the lyrics are far more interesting—especially to religious people—than a typical pop song: "Hear me now 'cause things own't working out. If my soul be damned, it's all part of the masterplan."

"End of Dark" has a bigger and better electronic intro than the i on "My Demons," and information technology leads into the very best chorus on the album. The classic pop harmonies will make you want to put on your vintage '80s gear and bop effectually. Moreover, the lyrics are a timely encouragement to let the power of dearest help united states of america detach from the darkness of current events. We hear, "She showed me the world within and told me no need to worry about the globe."

The anthology ends with Smith's gentle falsetto on "Stay," which expresses the sober wisdom of a man beyond middle age. There is no demand for anyone to pretend that Tears for Fears rule the world as the fresh faces of British popular music anymore; but more than forty years after they started as a band, they still accept much to offer the states, and their return is most welcome. Check out The Tipping Bespeak for refreshing throwback music with timeless lyrical quality.