Suede
Coming Up

THE REVIEW

After the success of the debut LP "Suede," the pomposity of the following "Dog Man Star," and the departure of guitarist/composer Butler, here come the new Suede with "Coming Up."

"Coming Up" is undoubtedly a cornerstone in Suede's discography as it marks a line of demarcation between the sound of the early Suede, which borrowed much from The Smiths and Morrissey, and outlines the new lineup that benefits from the composition of the newcomers, namely: Oakes on guitars and Codling on keyboards.

The introduction is necessary because if the first two albums are the offspring of the Anderson-Butler duo, the present "Coming Up" is rightfully the child of the pen, at least from a strictly musical standpoint, of the adolescent Oakes.

The album opens with the captivating "Trash," a sort of glam pop manifesto of the '90s that in some way prepares the listener for a mini-revolution in the Suede camp. The track is pervaded by the synth riffs of Neil Codling and the metallic voice of the singer, as well as the subsequent "Filmstar," this time with the addition of a drum with electronic sounds and a chorus with atmospheres directly taken from the best Bowie.

"Lazy," on the other hand, offers us a composition by Anderson alone that delights us with a very Brit track with a bouncy beat. "By the sea" (another track by Anderson alone) is a delicate piano composition that delights with the singer's notorious and sensual "she's."

The least good track of the entire album is "She," a hammering piece that leads nowhere, as does "Starcrazy," which hides its low level behind an enticing production of omnipresent guitar riffs and drums.

The masterpiece track of the album, however, is "Beautiful Ones," with Oakes' initial arpeggio, Anderson's splendid voice climbing glam mirrors, and lyrics about English teenagers of the '90s, making it one of the best tracks by Suede and the entire Britpop genre.

"Picnic by Motorway" is a splendid dreamy and acidic composition, with one of Anderson's best vocal performances, a smoky and dreamy atmosphere made of vehicles and picnics by a freeway. One of the best pieces on the album. "The Chemistry Between Us" is a delightful ballad complete with an orchestra and mischievous choir falsettos and Lalalala. To close the album, the delicate "Saturday Night," a charming track, with a nice guitar arpeggio, excellent orchestral production, and once again a typically Suede-like lyric.

The album is very compact thanks to the production and the use of similar tones throughout the entire album. The sounds are often the same, the guitar timbres repeat throughout the album as does Brett Anderson's hyper-produced voice.

Definitely a more accessible album than the previous "Dog Man Star" but analyzing the level of singles extracted from the LP, undoubtedly a step back compared to "Stay Together," a single signed by Butler. The following "Head Music" will venture into more electronic sounds (also because it will mostly be authored by keyboardist Codling) and thus it can be rightly stated that "Coming Up" is the true album to preserve from Suede.

Beautiful, glam, dreamy, nocturnal, to be listened to in a car along the desolate roads of bygone adolescent loves.

It was the '90s...