Send "Suede " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 When Britpop first began to cohere as a concept and a potential mission statement, no band defined its vague, abstract ideas better than Suede. By the time Britpop became an actual going concern, Suede were simply grandfathered in; and when the whole thing spittered to its post-Oasis peak, Suede were considered washed up. But in 1993, they were the creators of the fastest-selling debut LP in UK history and had been anointed as saviors of British indie before their debut single, "The Drowners", even hit the shops. This made them a natural for the British press to create ideas around, and so when Select argued for a return to wit, artifice, glamor, and British art school traditions, Suede were easy avatars for those hopes.Wit, artifice, and glamor may have been foreign to bands like Oasis or Cast or Ocean Colour Scene, but for many in 1993 they were welcome respites from a hangover of faceless, egoless electronic producers and gruff, dour American arena rock. On the relative margins of UK music, Tricky and PJ Harvey and the Tindersticks lurked-- and the Aueturs and Saint Etienne were also considered prototypical British hopes-- but Suede could articulate the desires of the outsider while broadcasting over Radio 1. Like Pulp, although perhaps neither band would be into the comparison, Suede were a more acceptable and easy to grasp Big New Thing. And, also like Pulp, they were comfortable creating complex pop songs about human relationships-- fluid with notions of sexuality and openly pursuant of lust and animal drives in an demure indie world that favors flowers and letters. Try to imagine, for example, Jarvis Cocker or Brett Anderson wooing someone by making them a mixtape? Unusually, however, they were introspective about the whole thing too. While American glam revivalists like the Dandy Warhols wallowed in a cliché of leather jackets and rock'n'roll decadence, Suede inhabited those worlds at night and seemed to be able make some sense of the consequences and their motivations in the light of day. They did epic and visceral but they also did delicate and tortured. These twin poles-- crunchy glam rock and fragile balladeering-- found them at their best. They slipped when they lived between those worlds, aiming for the midtempo and MOR. As a result, there's a lot to admire about Suede, and a lot to ridicule, and they typically go hand in hand. In the end, Suede had no tribal allegiances, and few nationalistic desires; they were essentially fueled by youth, low-rent glamor, available drugs, cheap thrills, and the hangover and harm one gets from their pursuit. If they romanticized anything, it was being young and bored and free. Ordinariness was the enemy....full text |
| Contactmusic |
| When Suede won the Mercury Prize with their 1993 self-titled debut it wouldn't have been bold to predict mega-stardom for them, but in amongst the Britpop bubble and member changes they didn't quite hit those heights. Having called it a day in 2003, the group reformed earlier this year and are currently touring Europe, leading up to a date at the O2 Arena in December. Having already released a compilation of their work (2003's 'Singles') it would be easy to suggest that this two disc collection is simply a cash in on the band's reunion. Certainly the first disc would support this, featuring a slightly different running order but pretty much the same content as the album from seven years previous. For newcomers though this is a great opportunity to discover how consistent the group were at producing hugely enjoyable guitar music; from earlier anthems such as 'Animal Nitrate' through to the commercially and critically acclaimed 'Trash'. Even toward the end of their story 'Can't Get Enough' showed Suede could still pack a punch, whilst 'She's In Fashion' displayed a breezy and mature tone that can simply be described as lush. Away from the commercial releases is where fans may find value in this release, with a second disc comprising of album tracks and B sides. From the hypnotic 'Europe Is Our Playground' to the acoustic gem that is 'The Living Dead', Suede continue a high quality output, with 'Pantomime Horse' being a particular highlight that features Brett Anderson at his titanic best. There are also opportunities to successfully experiment with shimmering orchestral arrangements ('Still Life') and to dabble in country on 'My Dark Star', all whilst continuing to very much retain their identity. A lack of new material means there is no evidence if this is to be continued, but certainly for younger music fans this collection is a great introduction to one of the most important British rock acts of the last two decades....full text |
| Clashmusic |
| There’s an old saying that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Brett Anderson realised this soon after the release of Suede’s fifth and, to date, final album, ‘A New Morning’, and thus marked the end of one of the definitive British bands of the Nineties. Shorn of the epic songs of old, not to mention the vast majority of their fanbase, the album spluttered to an inglorious demise and the band soon followed. 2003’s ‘Singles’ appeared in the lower reaches of the album chart and Suede passed into history with the minimum of fuss. Seven years later, it’s time to have another go, even if the first disc is essentially ‘Singles’ shuffled around a bit, but with three songs taken off. What matters, as ever, is that these songs - ‘Animal Nitrate’, ‘The Wild Ones’, ‘Beautiful Ones’ - still sound as vital and invigorating as the first time you heard them....full text |
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_01.06.2011.jpg "Suede - Suede (reissue) review")
