The Psychedelic Furs drop a new album ‘Made of Rain’ 40 years after their first release, demonstrating pure dedication to continually influence and grow musically.
They present heavy beats (and even heavier bass!) with dramatic moody lyrics courtesy of ever-talented frontman Richard Butler. After a brief hiatus in the 90s, The Furs had left us all calling for more of their earnestly austere sound. In a word, how the majority of fans were feeling in relation to the impending newest album was simply: ready.
‘The Boy Who Invented Rock & Roll’ is an immensely worthy opener. The lyrics are flung in the way of a catapult, alliterative words demanding attention, “the druggie days // the pointless pain”. As the album moves onwards, we’re launched into the music stratosphere that is the wholly fresh sound, which, it seems, only The Furs have the ability to conjure.
In contrast to the previous fun rebellious (in a way almost teenage themed) lyrics of previous albums, ‘Made of Rain’ presents a more cynical view. ‘You’ll Be Mine’ addresses the inevitability of endings in a pretty dark way, “Don’t be surprised when all your days are yesterdays // Don’t be surprised at all”. Nevertheless, Butler remains a powerful wordsmith, backed by brother Tim on bass.
This iconic band first captured the nation’s heart in the decade of new wave and post-punk with timeless hits such as ‘Love My Way’, ‘The Ghost in You’ and ‘Pretty in Pink’. The latter even- sort of- inspired that John Hughes movie. But now, ‘Made of Rain’ takes a deeper more critical look at the world. As stated in the track ‘No One’, “The sirens will never sing // Just silence in everything”. The album is the antithesis of sugar-coating.
Unlike the majority of the iconic 70s and 80s favourite groups, who didn’t make it to the end of the decade as a formidable band, (RIP to The Jam, The Clash, The Velvet Underground… the list goes on )The Psychedelic Furs are not yet left behind for us to nostalgically reminisce. They continue to build on their sound, with darker, if not slightly gloomier, lyrics derived from their wealth of experience and intuition.
Time can change much, but it hasn’t influenced the epic talent of this iconic band one single bit.
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