Strip away the catchy-as-hell synths and power chords, and Tears for Fears’ music is pretty much the sonic equivalent of a therapy session. As part of the “second British invasion” that arrived on the U.S.’s airwaves in the ’80s, front men Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal were a little deeper — a little smarter — than their equally well-coiffed contemporaries that had “minds” or “twins” in their names, offering up a triple punch of a primal platter with 1983’s The Hurting, 1985’s Songs From the Big Chair, and 1989’s The Seeds of Love. (Not that we can make the official decision, but “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is, for all intents and purposes, the theme song for 1985.) They were crooning about neurosis, depression, and political protest, but they did it in an accessible way for the MTV generation. - Devon Ivie Vulture