I didn’t pay much attention to The Psychedelic Furs in the 80s until Pretty In Pink arrived in theaters. Something about the “Love My Way” video which was always on MTV haunted me. I watched it recently and I can not remember why it bugged me so. It’s one of the many classic Furs songs that I’ve come to love in the thirty years since they last released an album.
It comes as no surprise that Made Of Rain carries itself with confidence as the band has been a formidable live act over the last decade. It feeds into the volcanic eruption of opener “The Boy That Invented Rock-n-Roll” and the swirling “Wrong Train”. While the band proves, undoubtedly, that they can still blow the roof off a club on these songs, the album also wears its heart on its sleeve. The detached, cool persona of the troubled poet has always been Richard Butler’s best disguise and his voice brings it to life whenever the music allows him the space as it does on the beautiful “Turn Your Back on Me”.
The pacing of the album feels just right – the Furs have always been brilliant at sequencing an album to maintain a mood. Made of Rain certainly feels like it is built for vinyl with the second half being the more introspective side but even experience straight through, the Furs keep you fully engaged. Much like The Fixx and OMD, The Psychedelic Furs are proving that some of the most popular bands of the 80s can still create vital new music and deliver live shows that side-step the soul-draining routine of just playing the hits.