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Made of Rain

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Made of Rain
A black-and-white photo of a sculpture of a man with a long beard covering his face with a large splatter of purple paint on the top and the album and band name in white type
Studio album by
The Psychedelic Furs
Released31 July 2020 (2020-07-31)
Recorded2019–20
Length51:40
LanguageEnglish
LabelCooking Vinyl
ProducerRichard Fortus, David Maurice & The Psychedelic Furs[1]
The Psychedelic Furs chronology
World Outside
(1991) 		Made of Rain
(2020)

Made of Rain is the eighth studio album from English rock band The Psychedelic Furs. Released via Cooking Vinyl on 31 July 2020, it is the first studio album from the band in almost 30 years and has received positive reviews.

Recording and release

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When the band reunited in 2000, 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.[2] It is the first studio release by the group since 1991's World Outside and was preceded by lead single "Don't Believe" on 31 January 2020.[3] 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.[4] The album is the band's first with members Rich Good (formerly of The Pleased, who joined in 2009) and Amanda Kramer (formerly of Information Society, who joined in 2002).

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[5]
Metacritic78/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
American Songwriter[8]
The Arts Desk[9]
Consequence of SoundB+[10]
The Independent[11]
MusicOMH[12]
PopMatters[13]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Made of Rain received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 from 13 critic scores.[6] Album of the Year sums up critical consensus as a 77 out of 100, with 12 reviewers[14] and AnyDecentMusic? rates it 7.2 out of 10 with eight critics.[5]

Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter gave the release 3.5 out of five stars and called it "long overdue", with some repetition and an over-long runtime but several songs that highlight Richard Butler's talents as a performer and songwriter.[8] In The Arts Desk, Guy Oddy's three-out-of-five-star review looks forward to hearing the songs performed live to hear new music "which displays the band’s distinctive swagger".[9] Consequence of Sound's Jordan Blum had a B+ review, praising several technical aspects but also criticizing the sequencing and sameness of several songs.[10]

In The Independent, Elissa Bray gave Made of Rain three out of five stars and called this "a welcome return to the Furs’ classic blend of aggression, tender melody and brooding ambience" that is darker than previous material.[11] MusicOMH's Ross Horton compared the work to artist as diverse as Phil Spector and U2 circa The Joshua Tree, summing up "At this stage in their careers, with nothing left to prove, The Psychedelic Furs needn’t have made anything this good"; his review is four out of five stars.[12] John Bergstrom of PopMatters had a mixed six out of 10 stars, with praise for "The Boy That Invented Rock and Roll" in particular but criticism of all other tracks as being "an anticlimax".[13]

The review from Tim Sendra at AllMusic was also reserved in its praise, stating "It may not be Talk Talk Talk, Pt. 2 or Forever Now again, but it proves the Furs still have plenty of life left in them, and it's always nice to hear Richard Butler's voice no matter what the setting."[7]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll"Richard Butler and Rich Good3:37
2."Don't Believe"R. Butler, Tim Butler, Paul Garisto, and Good3:45
3."You'll Be Mine"R. Butler and T. Butler4:48
4."Wrong Train"John Ashton, R. Butler, and T. Butler4:13
5."This'll Never Be Like Love"R. Butler and Good5:10
6."Ash Wednesday"R. Butler and Garisto5:38
7."Come All Ye Faithful"R. Butler and Good4:23
8."No-One"R. Butler and Good4:23
9."Tiny Hands"R. Butler and T. Butler3:46
10."Hide the Medicine"R. Butler and Richard Fortus3:46
11."Turn Your Back on Me"R. Butler and Garisto4:14
12."Stars"R. Butler, Jon Carin, and Fortus3:57
Total length:51:40

Personnel

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The Psychedelic Furs

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

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European Chart performance for Made of Rain
Chart (2020) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 47
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[17] 62
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 41
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 13

References

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  1. ^ Kaye, Ben (31 January 2020). "The Psychedelic Furs Announce First Album in 29 Years, Made of Rain, Share 'Don't Believe'". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  2. ^ Ryan, Patrick (30 July 2020). "Psychedelic Furs Talk New Album, Rock Hall Snub and 'Mixed Blessing' of Pretty in Pink". USA Today. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. ^ Leas, Ryan (31 January 2020). "The Psychedelic Furs – 'Don't Believe'". Stereogum. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ "The Psychedelic Furs push back release of 'Made of Rain,' first new album in 29 years". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Made of Rain by The Psychedelic Furs". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Made of Rain by The Psychedelic Furs". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Made of Rain – Psychedelic Furs". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (28 July 2020). "Psychedelic Furs Return with Long Overdue Album, Made of Rain". American Songwriter. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b Oddy, Guy (28 July 2020). "Album: The Psychedelic Furs - Made of Rain". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. ^ a b Blum, Jordan (27 July 2020). "The Psychedelic Furs' Made of Rain Is a Confident, Trippy, and Wonderful Comeback". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  11. ^ a b Bray, Elissa (31 July 2020). "Album Reviews: The Psychedelic Furs and Daniel Blumberg". The Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b Horton, Ross (29 July 2020). "The Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain". musicOMH. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  13. ^ a b Bergstrom, John (30 July 2020). "The Psychedelic Furs' Made of Rain Is Their First Album in Nearly 30 Years". PopMatters. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  14. ^ "The Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain". Album of the Year. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 32: del 31.7.2020 al 6.8.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Psychedelic Furs – Made of Rain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
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