Rocktrospectiva: The Welcome Back To The Form "Made Of Rain" Turns 5

Released on 31 July 2020, "Made Of Rain" was the 8th., studio album by English rock band The Psychedelic Furs, it was the first studio album from the band in almost 30 years and has received positive reviews. The album spawned two singles "Don't Believe" & "You'll Be Mine" & "Wrong Train". It was also the first album with Rich Good ex The Pleased and Amanda Kramer ex Information Society.

 

The band reunited in 2000, and they had intended on recording new material but principal songwriter Richard Butler did not feel confident in any newly written songs until six months before prior to the sessions for Made of Rain. It was the first studio release by the group since 1991's World Outside and was preceded by lead single "Don't Believe". The album was initially scheduled to be released on 1 May, but was delayed until 31 July due to logistical issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was like a dreamlike pop album tailor-made for these garish, even nightmarish, days. It was all backed by a typically rousing rhythm from Paul Garisto – sometimes employing the crisp patterns that shimmered from Ringo Starr’s Revolver era-banging his drum with furious, fast-paced precision, whacking each and every piece to their breathless finale.

 

About Richard, he in particular rised to the challenge, bellowing out a deceptive but nonetheless readily harebrained style that pushed with the energy the choppy, colorful licks aim for. If nothing else, Made of Rain proved a love letter to the days when singles, not albums, were the audience tipple of choice. 

 

Highlights were the apocalyptic "Don't Believe", tumbling through the twisted instrumental segments with weathered, rain-torn precision. With "No One", a pounding, effects-heavy look at the disenfranchised within us, lightened by Tim's hypnotic finger work.  "Come All Ye Faithful" which was closest Richard Butler's canon to a gospel ballad-brought to greater life, thanks to the stop/start bass that leads the song to the enthralling guitar coda. The longtime Psychedelic Furs collaborator Mars Williams soundscapes the tunes with a series of tangy saxophone solos. Now think about "You'll Be Mine" a ballad that romanticizes the violence and opulence of love in equal measure-showcased his best work, expressing an explosion more commonly heard on a punk rhythm guitar, and of course the tremendous "Wrong Train" that particularly took me back to the good old days "Talk Talk Talk" or "Forever Now" and finally the trangressive "The Boy That Invented Rock And Roll". The album was co-produced by Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus.

 

Made of Rain received "generally favorable reviews" and called it "long overdue", with some repetition and an over-long runtime but there were several songs that highlighted Richard Butler's talents as a performer and songwriter, also praised the several technical aspects but also criticizing the sequencing and sameness of several songs. It was welcome return to the Furs'  classic blend of aggression, tender melody and brooding ambience" that is darker than previous material. 

 

Made Of Rain Track List:  

 

1. The Boy That Invented Rock And Roll

2. Don't Believe

3. You'll Be Mine

4. Wrong Train

5. This'll Never Be Like Love

6. Ash Wednesday

7. Come All Ye Faithful

8. No-One

9. Tiny Hands

10. Hide The Medicine

11. Turn Your Backs On Me

12. Stars