{"product_id":"tears-for-fears-the-hurting-1","title":"Tears for Fears - The Hurting","description":"\u003cp\u003eTears for Fears turned private pain into synth-pop poetry on The Hurting, the 1983 debut that introduced Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith as one of the decade's most thoughtful duos.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChildhood friends from Bath, Orzabal and Smith built the album around the ideas of primal therapy, writing about trauma, family and the struggle to grow up whole. It was a bold subject for a young pop band, yet the record went all the way to number one in the UK, and its songs have been covered, sampled and rediscovered ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Mad World\" is the obvious landmark, its stark lyric and skeletal rhythm sounding just as eerie now as it did then. \"Pale Shelter\" pairs a bright, chiming hook with a quietly desperate plea for affection, while \"Change\" bounces along on xylophone-like synths and a restless, nervy energy. The title track opens the album on a note of hushed tension, setting the mood for everything that follows.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProducers Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum give the songs a clean, spacious sound, letting the drum machines, synths and Smith's plaintive vocals cut through with real clarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt remains one of the great debut albums of the new wave era, and a record that rewards playing start to finish.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alliance Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57439071011121,"sku":"602577507083","price":33.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0704\/2026\/7313\/files\/Tears_for_Fears-The_Hurting.jpg?v=1794152016","url":"https:\/\/vinyl.com\/products\/tears-for-fears-the-hurting-1","provider":"Vinyl.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}