PSYCHEDELIC FURS

Vinyl Reissues (1980-1991) SONY LEGACY 8/10

From art rock to mainstream crossover

The Psychedelic Furs have never quite enjoyed the levels of goodwill demonstrated towards many of their post-punk contemporaries. Listening again to this vinyl-only repress of their seven studio albums, it’s hard to see why. The band’s passage from drone-heavy art-rock (1980’s self-titled debut) to mainstream crossover (1984’s Mirror Moves) via a film soundtrack (1986’s “Pretty In Pink”) roughly corresponds with the Bunnymen’s trajectory (Crocodiles; Ocean Rain; “People Are Strange”) – while the Furs had a singer/guitarist double act every bit as charismatic as McCulloch and Sergeant. Richard Butler – raspy, insistent – was a strong foil to John Ashton’s spidery, spectral guitar lines. There’s a sax, too, adding righteous skronk to the proceedings, and let’s not forget Tim Butler’s sleek, propulsive basslines. But to reframe the Furs as the underdogs who never got their dues is a little disingenuous. They were huge, in their day, in America – while bands like The National and The Killers have evidently taken something from their literate, art-rock sensibilities. Talk Talk Talk nails the band’s early sound, while Mirror Moves successfully channels pop nous into the band’s alternative spirit. Later, Book Of Days provides a return to their roots after the slick, unsatisfying Midnight To Midnight. Guitars groan and swelter beneath Butler’s dense, impressionistic lyrics. Defiantly out of step with the prevailing trends among guitar bands in 1989, it might now be considered their masterpiece. Extras: None, but all seven LPs are 180g vinyl in original replica sleeves.