From its exhilarating opening bars, 'Made Of Rain' - the first Psychedelic Furs album in 29 years - sounds like them and them alone. It’s a joy to hear again, fresher than ever, that unique mesh of sounds and layers, that fusion of smooth and stark, of restraint and abandon, of melancholy and rage, of optimism and nihilism, of tough and tender. Lead singer and lyricist Richard Butler and his bass wielding brother Tim, show their ageless charisma flows anew.

The Psychedelic Furs may not have invented rock & roll per se, but their influence since arriving on the post-punk scorched-earth landscape four decades ago has reverberated and resonated among all those who cherish the sweet-and-sour spot where rawness and romanticism meet. In recent years everyone from The Killers to The Strokes to Foo Fighters have sung their praises.  

As the Furs’ witty, poetic, pugnacious onslaughts seared out of punk launching a fleet of durable hits, they evolved elegantly until taking a studio hiatus from 1991. Yet since reconvening as an essential live act at the turn of the century, they’ve found the applause growing louder and louder. Audiences realised how much they loved those songs from early forays like 'Sister Europe' and 'India' through 'Pretty In Pink' to radio staples 'Love My Way', 'Heaven', 'The Ghost In You and 'Heartbreak Beat'. And though the Furs’ remained active touring, they did not venture into the recording studio ….until the urge, the itch, came back and the skies opened to deliver Made Of Rain.

As the closing track on 'Made Of Rain' sighs, “these are the days that we will all remember”. Does this feel like a special time again?

“Oh every minute you’re alive, they’re all great days” says Richard.

What a glorious feeling.