'80s band still 'Shout'ing

They've been out of the game for a while, but '80s synth-pop group Tears for Fears have broken out of their hiatus with an album that's as "sweet as homemade apple pie," as they call one song in their liner notes.\nEverybody Loves A Happy Ending, the first effort from English duo Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith since 1996, is a pleasure to listen to. While every band to come out of Britain since the mid-1960s has probably been compared to the Beatles in some way, this complex, artsy album has distinct echoes of the Fab Four's work. For example, the alarm clock sounds, vocal timbre, harmonies and lyrics of the album-opening title track bring to mind Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band songs, "A Day in the Life" and possibly "Good Morning, Good Morning." \nBeyond these surface Beatles resemblances, however, is an evolved album full of textured, artsy songs that will make you tap your toe and sing under your breath, even the first time you hear them. \nIn their first album of the new millennium, Tears for Fears has shown they can still produce songs to stick in your head all day, like their '80s hits "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" once did. Standout tracks on Everybody Loves A Happy Ending include "Closest Thing To Heaven," "Killing With Kindness" and "Who Killed Tangerine"