Tears For Fears release new single, 'Break The Man'

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√ ‘The Tipping Point’ arriving Feb. 25

On Thursday, iconic British duo Tears For Fears released “Break The Man,” the third single off their anticipated first studio album in 17 years, “The Tipping Point,” arriving Feb. 25 via Concord Records.

Co-written by Curt Smith and Charlton Pettus, and co-produced by Smith, Roland Orzabal and Pettus, the band has crafted an empowering yet groovy track, with the overarching message being to break the patriarchy.

Of the song, Smith says, “ ‘Break The Man’ is about a strong woman, and breaking the patriarchy. I feel that a lot of the problems we’ve been having as a country and even worldwide to a certain degree has come from male dominance. It’s a song about a woman who is strong enough to break the man. For me, that would be an answer to a lot of the problems in the world – a better male-female balance.”

Listen to “Break The Man '' now here. Fans can preorder “The Tipping Point” here. Also, a limited-edition cassette is available for preorder only through the band’s exclusive web store and independent retail. Pre-order here.

In October, the pair released the first single and title track, “The Tipping Point," what TFF’s team called “capturing the grief of watching someone you love lose their long-standing battle with disease.”

Their second single, “No Small Thing,” was a meeting of the minds as the pair went back to the drawing board and found the heart and soul that would complete the album. The accompanying video was made using solely found footage showing the conflict between individual freedoms and collective responsibility.

In November, the band also announced “The Tipping Point World Tour,” with support from Garbage on the U.S. leg. These dates will mark the band’s first U.S. tour since 2017. For tickets or more information, visit the band's website here.

WATCH:

Tears For Fears – Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Smith (vocals, bass, keyboards) – formed in Bath, England, in 1981. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, performing to countless sold-out audiences, and winning various awards, the band represent an inimitable intersection of pop palatability, clever and cognizant lyricism, guitar bombast, and new wave innovation.

Their 1983 debut, “The Hurting,” yielded anthems such as “Mad World,” “Change” and “Pale Shelter,” reaching RIAA Gold status in the U.S. 1985’s “Songs from the Big Chair” became a watershed moment for the group and music at large. Boasting the signature BRIT Award-winning “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout,” “Head over Heels,” “Mothers Talk” and “I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording),” it went quintuple-Platinum and No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200. Slant dubbed it one of “The Best Albums of the 1980s.” It was featured in the book “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die,” and Consequence of Sound awarded it a rare A+ rating in a 20-year retrospective.

1989’s “Seeds of Love” proved to be Orzabal and Smith’s last collaboration together until “Everybody Loves A Happy Ending” in 2004, which rekindled the creative fire between them. The band engaged in a three-year touring whirlwind across North America, Japan, South Korea, Manila and South America beginning in 2010.

2013 saw TFF return with their first recorded music in a decade: a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start.” The band returned once more in 2017 with the “Rule The World” best-of collection, which once more catapulted the band back to the upper echelon of the U.K. album charts.

The duo’s DNA remains embedded within three generations of artists on both subtle and overt levels. Quietly casting a shadow over rock, hip-hop, electronic dance music, indie and beyond, Kanye West interpolated “Memories Fade” on “The Coldest Winter” from the seminal “808s & Heartbreak.” The Weeknd infused “Pale Shelter” into Starboy’s “Secrets.” David Guetta sampled “Change” for “Always.” Drake utilized “Ideas as Opiates” as the foundation for “Lust For Life.” Ally Brooke Hernandez, Adam Lambert and Gary Jules recorded popular covers of “Mad World.” Disturbed took on “Shout” – and that’s only to name a few. Lorde cut a haunting cover of “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” for the soundtrack of the blockbuster “The Hunger Games – Catching Fire,” which Tears For Fears gleefully would use as intro music live and thus bring everything full circle.

Meanwhile, classic songs figure prominently everywhere from “The Wire” and “Donnie Darko” to “Straight Outta Compton” and “Mr. Robot.”

Long before they became a cultural cornerstone, Tears For Fears simply consisted of two school friends growing up in Bath, Somerset U.K.

With “The Tipping Point” and comprehensive touring plans on the horizon, Orzabal and Smith remain as loud as ever – while yet another generation gets ready to “Shout” with them all over again.

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