and nervous percussion accelerate the song's strong disco pulse. And on both "Mad World" and "Pale Shelter," beguiling hooks and panoramic guitar effects suck the listener into dizzy whirlpools of cleverly synthesized orchestration. "Start of the Breakdown" is a successful venture into artier territory, a macabre play-by-play of emotional collapse that's heightened by the stark contrast of exotic percussion flourishes and a bleak, descending keyboard motif.

Tears for Fears may be too concerned with their own petty traumas, but it is a testimony to their refined pop instincts that they manage to produce this much pleasure from the pain. (RS 399)

DAVID FRICKE