Nude/Sony
 Hello hello, Suede (yes, Suede!) have
finally found their feet once more and thrown Coming
Up with all their force into our faces. Right where
they managed to get a direct hit way back in 1993 and
indeed it's time for the music cynics to tack that
picture of Brett back on their dartboards. Coming Up opens with the now infamous 'Trash' and what is surprising, is that this first taste of a rather joyful sounding Suede is what carries us through much of the album. Looking back at the eponymously titled debut and the critically acclaim of Dog Man Star, is to see Suede at their pompous best. Four pouting preening fops, the lead singer swishing his hips, tossing his fringe and the guitarist mesmerising everyone. But Suede pissed it all up the wall; Bernard took off and Brett went pharmaceutical. After the release of 'New Generation' and obtaining Richard Oakes in an attempt to fill Butler's shoes, Suede became very quiet indeed. |
| But now Brett's got a smile in his eyes, Richard has sensibly chosen to leave his own mark and they've recruited 21 year old Neil Codling who lends Suede a tune or two, plus a backing vocal and keyboard (if he could be arsed). Then there's the album......they've got ten songs that trample anything and everything, that fill you with the fever that first came with 'The Drowners'. |
 |
| 'Trash' the first single, has Brett in fine form;
thrilling high notes and the drawn out 'traaaaaaaash' has
you magically wriggling in your seat. It's tailored for
the nobodies who prefer the tattered velvet curtain of
Suede to the frothy spit and bubble of Pulp's
'Mis-shapes'. 'Film Star' follows on, a dark, moody number reminiscent of the Butler days. It's a teasing smack in the face of a groupie, you can imagine Brett strutting the stage with that smirk, whipping the crap out that microphone lead. This time round, Suede have chosen to recapture the glamour that tracks like 'My Insatiable One' and 'He's Dead' gave them. All that macho, rock pig breast-beating, all the "'Ere we fucking go" at Phoenix was a bitter reminder of how Butler's departure affected them and the pressure to remain standing in the face of the Gallagher's New Yob reign. |
'She' is 'Film Star's' dark partner. Too different, but
with a similar grisly composition. Filled with whiplash
and a sneaky chorus, 'She' is the voyeurs vision into the
nation. It thunders and grinds into the new single
'Beautiful Ones', the wide-eyed pop dream about those on
the dole, on the game and addicted to drugs. Lyrically
infectious, if not at times amusing, this track, like 'By
the Sea' will surely end up a concert classic. 'Star Crazy' - a Codling co-write- reminiscent of 'We Are The Pigs'; perhaps because of it's sneering line of 'violence' in the bridge, or the whole glam-stomp thing both tracks have. Either way, it's Suede at their theatrical best. 'Lovely Day', now 'Picnic on the Motorway', is the type of aching melody that this band delivers with precision and aplomb. Simple, apologetic and understanding, Brett traipses over the turf they laid with 'The Next Life'. Not as epic as 'Still Life', a little more dramatic than 'Sleeping Pills', it shakes you into tears. |
| However, if it's dramatic you're after, try the lyrically drug advisory type love song, the seven minute Codling/Anderson written 'Chemistry Between Us'. With more strings attached than a dodgy bank loan, it's a pure Suede moment. Thus, 'Saturday Night' closes the album, taking you to the London council estates where relationships fall into habits and habits fall into despair, where all you've got is that one Saturday night. Lyrically, this album doesn't come close to it's dirtier, dustier and all together grander sibling Dog Man Star, but it's the real and obvious joy emanating from Suede that makes this such a fabulously indispensable LP. Coming Up will be massive because it's refreshing, new and obscenely good. If Dog Man Star went over your head, then Coming Up will kick you in the teeth. Rating (out of 5 trainers) |
Back to Review index
November Singles | Index of all Reviews
Design, layout and content � 1996 Chester.
