Tears for Fears - The Hurting

Tears 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.

Childhood 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.

"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.

Producers 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.

It remains one of the great debut albums of the new wave era, and a record that rewards playing start to finish.