The Psychedelic Furs
Made of Rain
Cooking Vinyl
‘Made of Rain’ will be the first new Psychedelic Furs album released since ‘World Outside’ in 1991 and they don’t sound like they have been away. Singer Richard Butler and his bass playing brother Tim, formed the Furs after seeing the Sex Pistols live during the late seventies. The Furs blend the sneering energy of punk with the artiness of Roxy Music and the darkness of The Velvet Underground, but still manage to have a sound that is unique to themselves. The Furs were once described as being the ‘missing link between the Sex Pistols and Nirvana’ and their influence is widely acknowledged.
David Bowie was a huge fan of The Psychedelic Furs and there are rumours that he wanted to produce one of their early albums. ’Made of Rain’ opener ‘The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll’ is probably something that Bowie would have approved of with the saxophone and synth grittiness weaving its way between Butler’s raspy vocals. “Druggy days of pointless pain, the letterbox is full of rain” sings Butler to show the Furs are back with a menu of melancholic menace. Think of ’Talk Talk Talk’ era Furs mixed with the inventiveness of ‘Blackstar’ Bowie and you will be close to where ‘The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll’ is at. ’Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘No One’ are not far behind. By the way, this album was mixed by Bowie collaborator Tim Palmer.
’Don’t Believe’ was the first single to be lifted from the album and could be to the current political circus what ‘President Gas’ was in 1982 – with a melodic chorus backed with a swirling sax, synth and guitar attack. ’You’ll Be Mine’ seems to be an ode to either lust or love within a world that is crumbling. If The Velvet Underground were still making music today, they might sound like ’You’ll Be Mine.’ Richard Butler’s pitch black wit is cranked up to 10 on ‘Wrong Train’ with a sound that relates to ‘World Outside’ era Furs and also proof that Butler’s voice has not aged at all. In fact: most bands don’t return with anything as strong as ‘Made of Rain’ after 29 months let alone 29 years.
‘Made of Rain’ should definitely not be missed.
4/5
David Nobakht
The pre-sale begins here Wednesday 29th July 2020 @ 10am and the general sale for tickets begins at Friday 31st July 2020 @ 10am.