Tears For Fears – “Astronaut”

’80s new wave greats Tears For Fears are one of the few acts who have appeared in both of our chart columns, The Number Ones and The Alternative Number Ones, and they’re still going strong today. Later this month, Tears For Fears will release Songs For A Nervous Planet, a live album with a few new songs. The band has had to address the backlash over the record’s AI-generated cover art, which seems likely to overshadow the actual music on that record, but the music is still coming out. We’ve already posted lead single “The Girl That I Call Home,” and now they’ve also shared the new one “Astronaut.”

“Astronaut” is a soulful lament about feeling like you belong in a different world. It’s got some serious falsetto action, and it builds to a big psychedelic crescendo. The Maschima-directed video sure seems to double down on the AI thing. Here’s what Curt Smith says about the song in a press release:

“Astronaut” started out during the sessions for The Tipping Point. Once we realized that we were going to end up doing more than just one new track for this album, Roland sent me the original recording of “Astronaut,” and I had forgotten how good of a song it was as it gives you a sense of release. It’s a horrible comparison, but it’s the sorbet in between courses where you just can have a little breath and just float away. Forgive the pun, but that’s the feeling the song has…

Emotionally, it’s about this guy who doesn’t feel he belongs here and wants to be an astronaut floating out into space… a lot of people identify with the emotion of that song, that sense of alienation.

Hear “Astronaut” below.

Songs For A Nervous Planet is out 10/25 via Concord.