Richard Butler

• Genre: Adult Alternative
• Richard Butler Website

About

As the lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs, Richard Butler enjoyed the enviable position of experiencing both critical and commercial success through the 1980s on the back of hits like "Love My Way," "The Ghost In You" and -- most famously -- "Pretty In Pink." He then went on to form Love Spit Love, then hit the nostalgia circuit with the reunited Furs in 2000, on bills with the likes of the Go-Gos and the B-52s. In 2006, he released an eponymous debut LP, saying: "I've experienced quite a bit in the last few years, both good and bad, and that's reflected in these songs. I think everybody reaches a point in their life where they begin to ask themselves certain questions. When you're young you feel like you're bulletproof, and being old seems a very long way away. But once you get to around 40, you begin to realize that you're not going to live forever, and you begin to think a bit more seriously about things like God and love and death." Such weighty concerns are reflected in his new music. Recorded at collaborator Jon Carin's studio in upstate New York, Butler's new work is almost uncomfortably personal -- which, given the usual output of (middle-aged) rock stars gone solo is laudable in itself. However, it's when his music strays into Furs territory that Butler springs to life, begging the question of whether old dogs really need to learn new tricks.

- Jamie Dolling