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Post by Jules on Jan 20, 2022 22:52:28 GMT
Let's put them all here if we find them. I got the new issue of the German magazine GoodTimes and there's a (bad) article and a (OK) review of the album in there; I'll translate it tomorrow...
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Post by Jules on Jan 21, 2022 9:13:09 GMT
GoodTimes 1/2022
TEARS FOR FEARS
THE TIPPING POINT
In the first years of their career (1981-1995) Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, better known as Tears Fears, managed to release five albums, including the million-sellers SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR and THE SEEDS OF LOVE. With Smith's departure in 1990, the great success (a total of 30 million units sold) also faded: Orzabal was unable to follow up on the huge hits such as "Mad World", "Pale Shelter", "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule World". After ten years of radio silence, the two musicians got back together, released the album EVERYBODY LOVES A HAPPY ENDING in 2004 and toured extensively. Now, a quick 17 years later, the duo from the picturesque English town of Bath is putting THE TIPPING POINT on the shelves. The ten songs seamlessly tie in with the typical TFF sound, these incomparable and lyrically intelligent pop anthems with New Wave and a hint of the 60s. Altogether more timeless and modern than its predecessor, the new disc is absolutely recommended not only to old fans. The deluxe edition contains three additional songs.
(Concord, 10 tracks)
Translated from German with DeepL, edited by me
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Post by Jules on Feb 1, 2022 19:47:26 GMT
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Post by iveivan on Feb 1, 2022 19:58:06 GMT
Record collector - 5/5 The reviews are making me excited for the album. More so than the singles.
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Post by Jules on Feb 17, 2022 22:37:13 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 21, 2022 19:57:33 GMT
The current issue of eclipsed (German rock magazine) came out on Friday. It has a two-page interview with Roland and Curt and a review of the album. TTP isn't even in the top twenty of the reviewed albums, but keep in mind that TFF are on the fringe of the magazine's topics, which is more geared towards fans of progressive rock.
"The Tipping Point"
7/10
Style: Artpop Similar to: The Blue Nile; Coldplay; Julian Lennon; Seal
18 years after their reunion album "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending", Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are having another go under the name Tears For Fears. The record's genesis was inspired or overshadowed by the health of Orzabal's wife Caroline, who became a nursing case through dementia and died in 2017. The opener "No Small Thing" starts with strummed guitar, but builds up to a really beautiful, melancholy art-pop ballad. Even better is the title track, reminiscent of the big TFF hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" with its shuffle groove. There are many wonderful production ideas on the album, even if some of it is geared too much towards current listening habits ("My Demons"). However, especially in the second half, too many reflective ballads start creeping in, which are probably down to the initially mentioned conditions. On the other hand, "The Tipping Point" offers up another upbeat earworm with depth ("Break the Man") and a pop song connected to the 80s sound aesthetic in "End of Night".
Top track: The Tipping Point
(Matthias Bergert, translated to English by yours truly)
I've also seen a review in the ROCKS magazine, which is even less encompassing of TFF's music, but they also gave the album 7 points (I think - I'll have to have another look; didn't buy it) and the review actually reads more positive.
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Post by Jules on Feb 22, 2022 21:40:51 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 22, 2022 22:33:15 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 23, 2022 21:39:36 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 24, 2022 9:43:47 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 24, 2022 9:56:08 GMT
Under the Radar: www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/the_tipping_point_tears_for_fearsAnd thanks to JannL on the Steve Hoffman forums we also have a review of the Wall Street Journal, with an amusing error on who sings "No Small Thing": “The Tipping Point” isn’t a stripped-down collection by any stretch—there’s plenty of dense vocal layering, and many arrangements feature characteristically bright choruses launched from swells of synth—but these songs are compact and forceful, making their point while avoiding excess embellishment. The first track, “No Small Thing,” sets the tone lyrically and musically. It’s in part about paying attention to what is necessary, and it’s built around a basic descending chord progression played on acoustic guitar. Sung by Mr. Smith, the verses have the elemental clarity of an old folk number, and when Mr. Orzabal joins on the chorus, you remember just how skilled they are at writing tunes that stick in your mind. It’s earthy and elevated, mixing dejection with hope, and both members sound comfortable with their audibly older and more weary voices. The best work here combines that simplicity and directness with the swooning melodicism at which Tears for Fears has consistently excelled. Take “Long, Long, Long Time,” which is about the hopelessness that comes from being stuck inside a disintegrating relationship. It’s based around a spare piano line and has a beautiful chorus on which the duo is joined by singer Carina Round, and it also folds in bits of squelchy computer processing that brings to mind work by singer-songwriter James Blake. The sixth track, “Rivers of Mercy,” opens with sirens and seems to touch on the loneliness and isolation of the past couple of years (“I too often see the world through a veil of tears / Well to hell with my immunity / Gonna hold you close / Till the shadows disappear”) and then shifts into a poignant sing-along refrain that’s steeped in vulnerability. With Tears for Fears, there’s always the risk that a given song will go too far into adult contemporary territory and come across as treacly rather than heartfelt. One such number is “Please Be Happy,” this despite featuring some of the most personal lyrics on the set—it alludes to the illness of Mr. Orzabal’s wife, who died in 2017. “Please” is heavily sweetened by strings, and ultimately comes over as saccharine. Unconvincing in a different way is “My Demons,” a forced attempt at robotic new wave that feels out of place amid these songs of maturity. But these are the only stumbles. When “The Tipping Point” is at its strongest, you understand why Messrs. Orzabal and Smith need each other. Though they both sang lead, the former wrote most of the songs during the group’s star-making era. Here, their contributions are essentially equal. The album’s final cut, “Stay,” is an ethereal ballad co-written by Mr. Smith and Tears for Fears’ longtime guitarist Charlton Pettus. It closes the record on a hopeful and uplifting note, and forms a perfect bookend with the grounded opener. This is the group’s finest work since “The Seeds of Love” and it also feels present-tense, dislodging Tears for Fears, at least temporarily, from the glimmering era it helped define. (Mark Richardson)
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Post by Jules on Feb 25, 2022 10:17:04 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 27, 2022 14:44:03 GMT
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Post by Jules on Feb 28, 2022 18:48:18 GMT
I've also seen a review in the ROCKS magazine, which is even less encompassing of TFF's music, but they also gave the album 7 points (I think - I'll have to have another look; didn't buy it) and the review actually reads more positive. Actually, I was wrong. They gave it 8/10! Not bad at all. The German RollingStone had a review that can only be described as "lukewarm" and the album got only 2.5/5 stars. Strangely enough, the reviewer interpreted "My Demons" as being from the perspective of Roland's father. I did agree with the point that the album could've done with more rock influence...
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Post by Jules on Mar 2, 2022 10:28:49 GMT
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