This is a band I hear about all the time on the internet, but it’s one I still haven’t checked out quite yet. I figured I might as well start with their self-titled debut album. The Psychedelic Furs are a new wave band from London, forming first in 1977. The band took a bit of a break in the 1990s, and reformed again in the early 2000s and continue to tour to this day. I’m pretty stoked to check this one out, so with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“India” starts out very gently, with super new wave sounding gently swishing electric guitar coaxing you to listen closer, and some synths and drums slowly come on, creating a sort of dream-like soundscape for the listener. I’m really digging this so far, and have already turned it up twice. This is super blissful introduction to the album so far. Oh wow, the drums and bass come on heavy and crash down with an intense weight, creating a great contrast from the intro section. There’s definitely some elements that sound like they’re evolved from punk rock a bit, with a sort of strangeness with the waviness of the instrumentation. It’s almost like some sort of proto-shoegazing tune at the moment. Oh wow, this tune keeps on evolving further. The 80s bass keeps the tune chugging along really tastily. Holy smokes, the synth comes on with some great accentuations to this chaotic melody and adds a great dimension to the soundscape, and has an almost grating quality (in a good way) as it produces some super tasty sounds in the soundscape. Sweet tune to introduce the album.
“Sister Europe” starts out with some lone, steady and snappy 80s sounding drums. Oh wow, the guitars have a little bit of a strangeness to them with an interesting energy that’s almost like if a punk rock band were playing some psychedelic rock. Oh wow, those synths bring a super interesting dimension to the soundscape. Oh wow, I think there’s some acoustic guitar in there that gently plucks out some sort of path for the tune to go along. I really dig the vocals in this one – they have a sort of punk rock, matter-of-fact quality mixed with a sort of droning rock sound, with a whole bunch of flavor. The instrumentation almost has a sort of raga quality to it – incredibly interesting. I’m really digging this tune. The drums have kept that same beat just about the whole song until the outro – super sweet. Great tune.
“Imitation of Christ” has a really interesting, sort of washing sound to the different guitars and synths that sort of swirl together while the acoustic guitar and drums seem to coincide for some sweet percussion in the tune. Oh wow, the quick movement from the chorus to another verse has a great flavor to it. There’s a bunch of flavor in the vocal performance – I’m really digging it. Oh wow, this solo part from the synth, or maybe it’s a horn, is absolutely awesome, and it keeps on giving. Holy smokes, this little breakdown features some instrument that sounds like it’s fed through a talk-box, before hitting some super tasty notes that resolve some tension built up super well. This 80s new wave breakdown at the outro is super slick too. Great track.
“Fall” starts out with a really bopping feel from the drums and some heavy punk sounding bass guitar. Oh wow, those horns come on and really prop the tune up really well with some great flavors. Oh wow, there was a little bit of a stutter step in the tune for a second before everything came back around for a super tasty progression of the tune. Holy smokes, this guitar (?) solo is super effect laden and extremely awesome. Oh wow, this tune is super sweet with all that momentum at the end that sounds like a healthy mix of post-punk and new wave. Great tune.
“Pulse” has a super rapid pace and warm sound from the repetitious bass and cheesy electric guitars that sort of reminds me of Brian Eno meets the Minutemen in the overall. Oh wow, this tune really has a sweet sound to it. Really sweet short song.
“We Love You” starts out super quickly off the heels of the previous tune, with a super warm, repetitious sound that’s a little more paced out than the previous song, but it still carries that sort of art rock meets punk rock. Oh wow, the little saxophone part is pretty sweet, and the strong distortion from the electric guitar is super tasty. Oh wow, the drums and bass have a super steady feel that keep this tune moving along, without any indication of stopping for anything. Oh wow, there’s almost a bit of a dream pop rock sort of feel near the end. Sweet tune.
“Wedding Song” has a great stuttered drum beat that introduces the rest of instrumentation, which has a super tasty new wave meets raga rock quality to it. Wow, this is one tasty tune so far. The distortion from the guitars really continually ring out, or possibly that’s the synths trailing the guitars as play spaced out parts in the song. There’s a keyboard or synth instrument that’s playing a pretty overtly raga sort of melody in this one. Oh wow, there’s like some sort of vocal breakdown for a minute, and the rest of the instruments come on with a super tasty new wave sort of jam afterwards. Holy smokes, these little breakdown parts from all the instruments are sweet. This tune is potentially the most possibly psychedelic of the bunch so far. Great tune.
“Blacks / Radio” has some super strong sort of punk rock energy at first from the drums and bass while the guitars come on for something distorted and pretty melodic that sounds like a sort of art rock meets new wave, with that sort of punk underbelly which all combines for a groovy post-punk rock tune with some dream-like elements to it. Oh wow, the drums have a super sweet beat as they sort of cascade down into the soundscape. Oh wow, this tune keeps on evolving and has shifted into some super chaotic and somehow melodic jam section the saxophone and a guitar sort of going wild while the drums, bass, and other guitar keeps things grounded to some semblance of reality. Holy smokes, the distortion from the guitars after the jam is absolutely crunchy and sounds like some sort of garage post-punk 80s art rock combination. I really dig the quick little movements from the bass guitar, especially in conjunction with that strong drum beat. There are some super tasty effects on the guitars that sort of cause them to swish around a bit, almost like a wah pedal on steroids. Great track.
“Flowers” has a super interesting sound right away with a droning repetitious bass guitar riff and an extremely intriguing sort of kaleidoscopic effect throughout the whole soundscape. The drums have a great punk rock sort of energy, while the guitars almost sound like they’re coming from a distant dimension of some sort. The vocals have that really flavorful, matter-of-fact punk rock quality with a bit of droning rock sound to them – really sweet. Oh wow, this instrumental breakdown at the end of the song gets super chaotic with the synth, saxophone, guitars, and drums all seemingly going in different directions before resolving. Great tune.
“Susan’s Strange” is the first bonus track on the album, and there’s almost a tangible sweetness to this way with the gentle rhythm section to this one. The vocals have almost a sort of raw, kaleidoscopic sound like they’re sung through a fan into the microphone. The tone of the bass guitar is sweet, and definitely has a fat punk rock quality to it. Oh wow, this tune has some great accentuations from the synths and guitars as it continues along. The tambourine sort of takes on the most obvious portion of the rhythm section, bringing another sweet, somewhat earthy quality to the track. Sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Soap Commercial” starts with some super tasty guitar work that seemingly swishes throughout the soundscape while the bass keeps the tune somewhat grounded as it lifts the melody from the background with smooth, repetitious lines. Oh wow, this tune really gets out there with some nearly dissonant playing between the guitars, saxophone, and synth that all somehow come together for a super sweet resolution. Great track.
“Mack the Knife (Non LP B-Side)” starts out with some drums that seem to travel in circles around the soundscape. Oh wow, the guitars come on and the tune almost sounds like some sort of hard rock meets new wave track, especially as the bass sort of deeply bubbles up from the background with some great fat tone. Oh wow, these guitars have a super sweet swishing effect to them as they sort meander about the soundscape in a super driven manner. Oh wow, this drum break is super sweet, as it moves about the soundscape in pseudo-psychedelic fashion. Oh wow, the guitars keep on jamming further into this groove. Holy smokes, the saxophone brings a super sweet quality to the whole track. The track nearly has a kaleidoscopic/played in a tin can sound to it, and it’s absolutely awesome. Great tune.
“Flowers (Demo Version)” has a super soft introduction at first before jumping into this chaotic art rock meets raga rock sound produced by the band. Oh wow, the instrumentation nearly drops out for a moment before coming back in both more chaotically and seemingly more melodically than before. The vocals come back on and release some tension from all of the chaos. There’s this nearly banjo-like instrument in the background playing some sort of quick and somewhat stuttering raga line and I really dig it. This sounds like a completely different version from the other one on the album. The band sounds pretty harmonious and melodic at this point, a big contrast from earlier in the tune. I really dig the way this song evolved and progressed from start to finish. Oh wow, this outro is incredibly chaotic, with some super tasty playing from the band as the tune fades out. Super sweet track.
This was a pretty sweet album. I’m glad I finally checked out The Psychedelic Furs. There were such a large number of different elements from different genres throughout the album, ranging from new wave to post-punk to hard rock to raga rock to neo psychedelia to art rock. It reminded me a lot of a strange combination of Brian Eno, the Minutemen, and The Lucy Show. Super interesting listen, and if you dig interesting combinations of music and like new wave, art rock, or punk rock, you might want to consider giving this one a listen. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A