Suede. Or the London Suede, whichever you prefer. And let’s be real. Most of us know the truth. London Suede is a lie. Suede is the real thing as intended and as needed. The unique sound might not be for everyone, but only those worthy.
It’s been three years since the band delivered Autofiction, which seems too long. It doesn’t seem that it has been that long. That record was fresh and purely Suede with the crisp production, clean riffs, and Brett Anderson is all his Brett Anderson-ness. In other words, a lot of brilliance.
The last record might not have been Dog Man Star, but what is? Autofiction still gave us the most excellent Mother’s Day track ever created, “She Still Leads Me On.” The rest of the album should have made Suede (we refuse to give in to their forced American moniker) fans happy. You know what to expect at this point.
New Suede song implies new album excellence
If others don’t get it, that’s on them. We know better. Britpop is far behind, and few bands have ever (or will ever) sound like Brett and company. Maybe their best records are the first two with Bernard Butler. He left, and the band carried on nearly as well.
This brings me to the point (finally!) that Suede is expected to release a new album in September. It will be called Antidepressants and has been promised to be “broken music for broken people.”
Of course, lesser bands have promised us that before, and the delivery has not met with satisfaction. There is little chance that the new record will make mass audiences happy. Suede is no longer the Britpop titan they once were, just as Blur isn’t.
But real music fans do not need that. We need good music, no matter the genre or the musical
artist. Suede has nearly consistently brought us good stuff.
The first single off the new record is called “Disintegrate.” Does it break the mold of what Suede usually churns out? No, and it doesn’t need to. It’s much of the same, and what the world needs now. While the rest of creation is falling, we still have Suede, and they continue to be just as we have come to expect: Brilliant and true.