Better known as one-half of the '80s pop duo Tears for Fears, British musician Curt Smith ventures out on his own with his latest solo outing Halfway Pleased. His sophomore album, Halfway runs nearly and hour and ten minutes long and has 15 tracks chosen from a series of songs Smith recorded over the past seven years. Despite the fragmented nature of the recordings, the album is a surprisingly cohesive set of moody atmospheric music.
The album sounds much different than Smith's new-wave past, veering into sleep-inducing and adult contemporary territory. The tracks feature some glossy piano playing, ominous synths and drumbeats, complemented by the addition of acoustic guitars, resulting in a mishmash of mellow ballads with melancholy lyrics. The title track, for example, drips with overemotional sentimentalism.
