“Cry like a siren!” exhorts Roland Orzabal, halfway through Tears for Fears’ first album in 17 years. The phrase nails the mood of exhilarating melancholy that wails right through this barnstorming collection of new songs.
Originally formed by Orzabal and his schoolmate Curt Smith in Bath, in 1981, Tears for Fears flew the flag for the more soulful side of the neon decade’s new wave synth-pop scene. Their hits filtered childhood trauma (“Mad World”, 1982), Cold War anxiety (“Everybody Wants to Rule The World”, 1985) and frustration with Thatcherite politics (“Sowing the Seeds of Love”, 1989) through simple-but-strange melodies, delivered with smooth grandeur. They released three albums then split, acrimoniously, in 1991. Orzabal went on to release two more albums under the TFF name, before reconciling with Smith in 2000 and releasing the solid Everybody Loves a Happy Ending in 2004.
