The Psychedelic Furs sprouted up from the darker recesses of the new wave. They stood out because of their strong understanding of what makes a pop song stick in the brain and because of the inimitable voice that sang those songs. Whether The Psychedelic Furs are straddling the balance beam between new wave and punk on "India", making teens swoon with "Pretty in Pink", going full dance-pop with "Heartbeat", or getting weird with "I Am the Walrus" cellos on "President Gas", Richard Butler's sandblaster makes it all unmistakably identifiable as the work of The Psychedelic Furs. That voice has not changed a wit. Last year The Psychedelic Furs released their first album in nearly twenty years, and though you'd think Butler would sound like the dying mystic from The Dark Crystal by now, he still sounds exactly the same as he did in the eighties. In fact, everything about the single "Don't Believe" makes it sound like a product of 1989 instead of 2020. "Don't Believe" is also the closing track of a new compilation from Demon Records that boils down the best of The Psychedelic Furs to eleven uniformly superb tracks. All of the aforementioned songs are present, as are other essentials such as "Love My Way" and "All That Money Wants". The music is so good you won't even mind the retro lack of imagination that went into the title and sleeve design of The Best of The Psychedelic Furs. You will also be well distracted by superbly cut vinyl that is flat, correctly centered, and perfectly quiet. Of course, the music should be cranked loud.
