Tomcats Screaming Outside is the first solo album from British musician Roland Orzabal

Roland Orzabal

Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.- Early career :Orzabal...

 of the group Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...

, and was released on 2 April 2001. Although Orzabal had effectively made two solo albums under the Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears

Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...

 moniker in the 1990s (following the departure of bandmate Curt Smith

Curt Smith

Curt Smith is an English musician. He is best known for forming the band Tears for Fears, along with childhood friend Roland Orzabal. Also a solo artist, he released his third album Halfway, Pleased in May 2008....

), this was the first recording to be released under his own name. The album was given a low-key release and did not chart, but earned some critical acclaim for its clever melding of pop songwriting and drum 'n bass, ambient techno and trip hop textures. Dan Gennoe claimed in the Amazon.com's editorial review: "Solo album or not, Tomcats Screaming Outside is the best Tears for Fears album in a decade."

In a 2000 interview Orzabal commented on his influences for the album: "I started out with an absolute concrete vision of where I wanted to go so I started with a very different rhythm approach, with drum and bass/jungle...and I ended up with something that wasn't the original plan."

The US release of the album (on Gold Circle Records

Gold Circle Films

Gold Circle Films is an American independent film production company, mainly focusing on horror and romance films, founded in 2000. Titles released by Gold Circle include White Noise, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Wedding Date, and The Man From Elysian Fields.-Films:*Double Whammy *The Man From...

) had the unfortunate coincidence to be released on September 11, 2001, the same day the United States experienced its worst-ever terrorist attack, and drew little notice outside TFF's core fan base.

Track listing

1. "Ticket to the World" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 5:48
2. "Low Life" (Orzabal) – 4:36
3. "Hypnoculture" (Orzabal) – 3:13
4. "Bullets for Brains" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 4:08
5. "For the Love of Cain" (Orzabal) – 4:06
6. "Under Ether" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 5:51
7. "Day By Day By Day By Day By Day" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 4:35
8. "Dandelion" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 3:03
9. "Hey Andy!" (Orzabal) – 4:25
10. "Kill Love" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 5:40
11. "Snowdrop" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 4:23
12. "Maybe Our Days Are Numbered" (Griffiths, Orzabal) – 4:47

Singles

"Low Life" was the first single from the album. Plans to release the single in the UK were scrapped at the last minute, although it did see a commercial release in mainland Europe. "Low Life" was also played in the US on adult alternative radio. "For the Love of Cain" was planned as the second single release from the album, but it was cancelled since the first single had no chart success in Germany. Only a limited amount of copies were sold through Orzabal's official website.

• "Low Life" (12 March 2001)

1. "Low Life" (Album Version) – 4:37
2. "Low Life" (Supersub Mix) – 4:58
3. "Low Life" (President Who? Mix) – 4:50
4. "Low Life" (Radio Edit) – 4:07

• "For the Love of Cain" (August 2001)

1. "For the Love of Cain (Radio Edit) – 3:33
2. "Day By Day By Day By Day By Day" (Album Version) – 4:35
3. "Low Life" (Album Version) – 4:37
4. "Low Life" (Video) – 4:35

Personnel

• Roland Orzabal - guitar, keyboards, programming, vocals
• Alan Griffiths - guitar, keyboards, programming
• David Sutton - bass, guitar (bass)
• Nick D'Virgilio - drums
• Mark O'Donoughue - engineer, mixing
• Curtis Evans - design

External links

• Interview with Orzabal in September 2000 published in Lexicon Magazine and Sorted Magazine