Earlier this month, Tears For Fears announced a new live album called Songs For A Nervous Planet. But a lot of the folks who would be excited for the project were disappointed in its artwork, accusing it of being AI-generated. Those people were right! The artist is Vitalie Burcovschi, whose website is emblazoned with the tagline “Art created by AI using human imagination.” Tears For Fears addressed the backlash in an Instagram post over the weekend.

Under a photo of Burcovschi, the band wrote:

The cover for our new album, Songs For A Nervous Planet, was envisioned in collaboration with artist Vitalie Burcovschi, also known as @surrealistly.

The Songs For A Nervous Planet album artwork is a mixed media digital collage, with AI being just one of the many tools used in the creative process. We wanted vibrant artwork that evoked a sense of sci-fi, futuristic themes, and an escape from what is known. The sunflowers are a joyful nod to classic Tears For Fears imagery, while the juxtaposition of the astronaut is a link to our upcoming song, Astronaut, and a sense of alienation and not belonging. We have been fans of Surrealistly’s work for a long time and knew he would be the perfect artist to bring our vision to life.

“Collaborating with the band to bring their vision to life has been an incredible experience. Balancing surrealism with the emotional depth of their music was a challenge I fully embraced, and I believe the final artwork captures the powerful essence of their story.” – Surrealistly

Fans in the comments still aren’t buying it, calling the decision “tone deaf,” “soulless,” and “indefensible.” Tears For Fears are just the latest artist to have to release a statement addressing their use of AI following backlash — you’d think they’d get the hint by now that fans don’t like it! See their post below.