"We didn't want to go out and tour on old music because we haven't been writing," frontman Richard Butler explains. "We want to be a band that's a band, not one that's just touring."

The group -- which also includes Butler's brother Tim on bass and guitarist John Ashton -- has been writing material for the past several months. They might have gotten started sooner, if not...

There are those who find the voice of Richard Butler, lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs, ineffably fascinating. There are also those who run from the room upon hearing his unique vocal cords. Butler sounds like George Jones imitating Bryan Ferry: the sound escapes through clenched teeth, a thin croon that's rough and buzzy in the high notes, fruity and fulsome in the low ones.

Butler's voice...

On their second album, Talk Talk Talk, the Psychedelic Furs immerse themselves in a decidedly unpsychedelic subject: puppy love. About this topic, they're gratifyingly frank (sample song titles: "I Wanna Sleep with You" and "Into You like a Train"–a great one, that last), even if they're charmingly bratty, too. For instance, these six English lads are heavily into possession ("She Is Mine")...