Their new double A side "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending"/"Call Me Mellow" finds the reunited Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith back in Pepperland, picking up directly where 1989's "Sowing the Seeds of Love" left off. It’s disappointing, really; "Break it Down" – Roland going on after Smith's departure – sounded like vintage Tears for Fears, but this reunion doesn't continue the promises made by "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" or "Head Over Heels," and it shows no resemblance at all to "Mad World" (a cover of which was Christmas number one two years ago, for those of you who tried to block a Christmas chart filled with utter hideousness). "Call Me Mellow" is a diversion into La's land, a sunny, summertime song. Which begs the question, what the hell? I don't want Tears for Fears giving me songs for jaunty walkies in Primrose Hill – that's the Coral's job. It would be one thing to argue that this is a continuation of their path, seeing as "Happy Ending" has all the quality of a weak "Seeds of Love" B-side, but fifteen-plus years on, one would expect a more mature and contemplative Tears for Fears instead of a continuation of happy-crappy hippie twaddle. Although the songs are fairly complicated in construction, they're more pastiche than panache, and lack the dark and brooding sound that made Tears for Fears so distinctive.
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6Cat Conway's Score