Suede
Singles

THE REVIEW

The Suede are a fundamental band in 90s English rock.

Even though they never completely "broke through" outside the borders of their native England, Brett Anderson and his bandmates reshaped the coordinates of British pop-rock, inadvertently initiating the much-discussed britpop phenomenon, the same one that would eventually drag them into an irreversible crisis culminating in their disbandment in 2003. Their music, however, greatly differs from the subsequent wave that would bring success to Oasis and Blur: the four propose a sort of neo glam which takes its cues from legends like Bowie and The Smiths, blending it with an androgynous and sensual aesthetic considered very cool at the time.

A key figure in the band, besides the ambiguous vocalist, is Bernard Butler; an enormously talented guitarist considered in his homeland as the new Johnny Marr, he abandons the ship after two highly successful albums (the astounding self-titled debut and the much-debated "Dog Man Star") effectively splitting the band's career in two. The group would rise from the ashes where Butler had almost left them with "Comin' Up," perhaps the most surprising album of that golden decade for British pop.

Let's get into this "The Singles": released on October 20th 2003 (a few days before the official disbandment), it includes 20 official singles extracted from the five studio albums, plus the horrendous unreleased track "Love The Way You Love," repetitive and tiring. The first and only single "Attitude" is instead a decent piece of pop, not too predictable, but it already pointed out how the band at the time was heavily putting on the brakes. Otherwise, nothing is missing, starting with the Butler-period classics, among which masterpieces of 90s British rock like "Animal Nitrate" and "The Drowners" (both from the debut album). It's a shame that, being a singles collection, gems like "Pantomine Horse" or "Heroine" weren't included. Plenty of space is also given to the post "Dog Man Star" career, with gems like "Trash" (presented in a different version) and "Beautiful Ones," the latter perhaps the best song written by the band without Butler. The two singles from the last, commercially unsuccessful "A New Morning" of 2002 are not missing; the poppy "Positivity" and the beautiful and energetic "Obsessions." From "Head Music," the successor album to "Comin' Up," the wild guitar work of "Electricity" and the plunge into pure glam of "She's In Fashion" definitely stand out.

The lack of recognition in the rest of Europe for this great band remains a mystery to this day; nonetheless, the great songs they gifted us in fourteen years of career remain.

Even though it's the time of great reunions, Brett Anderson's consistency will probably prevent the "sacrilege" (which has already partially happened under the "umbrella" The Tears).

Or maybe not...

Key tracks: Beautiful Ones, Animal Nitrate, Trash, The Drowners, She's In Fashion, We Are The Pigs