By
Rob Jones
Suede return with their album Night Thoughts and the album goes for the epic and the energetic as the guys deliver the grandiose and a series of trademark stompers. The components of this work make for an adventurous and athletic album that ranks with their earliest work-and, it is a release that’s ambitions could parallel with Dog Man Star. Suede creates quality power pop/alt. rock buoyancy with ease and there is evidence of this stance here as No Tomorrow heads straight to the top of the band’s career roster. There are more harmonious hard hitters such as What I’m trying to tell You and Like Kids (with the addition of a children’s choir)-and, Suede confirm that they can certainly put their foot on the gas when required.
However, these chaps can also go for the more expansive endeavour and the key pieces within this field are When you are Young and its sibling When you were Young. These pristine pieces more or less top and tail the record as the latter heads in to the final offering The fur and the Feathers. The themes of formative years, growing older, faltering relationships are apparent at the core of these moody masterpieces and also elsewhere in the merchandise. Pale Snow, I don’t know how to reach You, Tightrope, Learning to Be and I can’t give her what she Wants demonstrate further sublime skills as the five piece and their guests head away from the three minute radio friendly format. Whether it is minimalism or everything and the kitchen sink Suede can certainly master the more acceptable face of the big ballad. Brett Anderson leads from the front even though the songs were written without any lyrics. These essential ingredients were added at a later date-and lines such as ‘it never works out for me’ and ‘a rallying cry for the excluded’ express that hyperbole is not a mantra that filters through these pensive nocturnal offerings.
The follow up to the 2013 effort Bloodsports offers far more depth and diligence and Outsiders (the favourite of Brett) heads the pack of potent products. The 2010 reformation of Suede after a 2003 split proves to be more than a nostalgia trip as the contents of this colossus are unveiled. It is a bonus when subsequent plays of a record build upon the momentum of the last visit and that is the case here. Suede is an act that does not aim for the mainstream but their ability to have a memorable melody and heavy hooks can pay dividends in that arena. The band are even hinting at a more extreme and less compromising stance for their next project but for now this long player can win new friends and retain old companions.
A dozen numbers slip in to one another with mathematical precision and Suede may have come and gone but their return has definitely declared that they have more lustre in their locker. Distinguished, dexterous and demanding your attention…..ladies and gentlemen it is Suede……
