14/11/25
Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair marks the progression towards emotional healing, a particularly bold sort of catharsis culled from Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith's shared attraction to primal scream therapy.
The album also heralded a dramatic maturation in the band's music, away from the synth-pop brand with which it was unjustly seared following the debut, and towards a complex, enveloping pop sophistication.