Tears For Fears have come under fire for their AI generated album cover of their upcoming release, Songs for a Nervous Planet. On 12th September 2024, they announced the album would be released on 25th October 2024. The album is their first-ever live album and features 22 tracks including Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Mad World as well as four brand new songs.
Formed in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, the new album has drawn the band from Bath into a highly contentious conversation around artificial intelligence. Whether unintentional or not, they have touched a nerve among their fans in the same way the Apple Crush! Ad did earlier this year. The reason is entirely due to the cover art being generated by AI. It has polarised their fans who consider the band’s choice of artist, Vitalie Burcovschi otherwise known as @surrealistly, to be in bad taste. They argue his AI generated work has replaced pure human creativity. The artist specialises in AI content.
On their Instagram, Tears For Fears attempted to justify their decision by saying:
The cover for our new album, Songs For A Nervous Planet, was envisioned in collaboration with artist Vitalie Burcovschi, also known as @surrealistly.
The Songs For A Nervous Planet album artwork is a mixed media digital collage, with AI being just one of the many tools used in the creative process. We wanted vibrant artwork that evoked a sense of sci-fi, futuristic themes, and an escape from what is known. The sunflowers are a joyful nod to classic Tears For Fears imagery, while the juxtaposition of the astronaut is a link to our upcoming song, Astronaut, and a sense of alienation and not belonging. We have been fans of Surrealistly’s work for a long time and knew he would be the perfect artist to bring our vision to life.
“Collaborating with the band to bring their vision to life has been an incredible experience. Balancing surrealism with the emotional depth of their music was a challenge I fully embraced, and I believe the final artwork captures the powerful essence of their story.” – Surrealistly
(Unfortunately, if you read the comments, it has seemingly only inflamed the situation.)
Songs For A Nervous Planet tracklist:
1. Say Goodbye To Mum And Dad
2. The Girl That I Call Home
3. Emily Said
4. Astronaut
5. No Small Thing
6. The Tipping Point
7. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
8. Secret World
9. Sowing The Seeds Of Love
10. Long, Long, Long Time
11. Break The Man
12. My Demons
13. Rivers of Mercy
14. Mad World
15. Suffer The Children
16. Woman In Chains
17. Bad Man’s Song
18. Pale Shelter
19. Break It Down Again
20. Head Over Heels
21. Change
22. Shout
The album will also be accompanied by a film, titled Tears For Fears Live (A Tipping Point Film). It will be in cinemas on Thursday 24th and Saturday 26th October 2024. To find a cinema showing near you, head over to: tearsforfearsfilm.com.
