“The Tipping Point” by Tears for Fears

"The Tipping Point" was Tears for Fears' first new original music in four years, released as a single in October 2021 before it named their February 2022 album, and it was born of grief. Founder member Roland Orzabal wrote it with longtime collaborator Charlton Pettus at a time when his wife was gravely ill and he was watching her fade into a ghost of who she had been, and the loss of her hangs over it.

Pettus, who also tours with the band, built the haunting backing track it grew from, blending a few of their trademark themes and twisting the time signature. Orzabal and Curt Smith share the vocals and keyboards, Orzabal adds guitar and Smith bass, Sacha Skarbek produced with the band and Tim Palmer mixed. Matt Mahurin's video was the first to show the band themselves since 2005.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.