Coming Up - Suede

When the story of British music in the nineties is discussed it tends to focus on the Britpop movement and concentrate on Blur and Oasis. The two groups had an intense rivalry and are both generally regarded as major forces in the resurgence of British guitar music after the early nineties 'grunge' explosion. Both put out catchy tunes and were, in their different ways, very British. In reality neither Blur or Oasis invented Britpop. Suede beat both of them to it. In 1993 Suede's debut Album was a resounding hit and scooped numerous prizes. In Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler, Suede had the most formidable songwriting partnership in British music since Johnny ...  Read the complete review

I have always been surprised at the lack of commercial success which Suede have had. For me they were one of the best bands of the 1990's mixing excellent musicianship with some reasonably good songwriting. Add to this Brett Anderson's vocal style and presence and they should have dominated the charts. The problem for Suede has been that they were kept in the shadows by the Oasis/Blur media dominance though I felt both bands were inferior and by Pulp who had everything Suede had perhaps with more humour and quirkiness. The opening track is called Trash but is far from it. It sets the tone of the remainder of the album with strong drumming of Simon Gilbert and ...  Read the complete review

If there was ever a word to describe this record it would be “shiny”. Suede plays pop if you like. In fact, it’s so polished you can see your face in it (and not just the CD either as that applies to all CDs). If you have listened to the first tow Suede albums, Suede and Dog Man Star, you’ll know that they where quite dark affairs, with plenty of dark, brooding, menacing songs. This is not the case with this one however – for the most part we have some really great songs that have their foot heavily into the pop side of the barrier. This record was released in 1996, which doesn’t seem that long ago, but it’s approaching ...  Read the complete review

It looked like the end for Brett and the boys when guitar king Bernard Butler walked out on them after recording Dog Man Star after a reputed dispute with the band's producer Ed Buller, However, Suede picked up a new guitarist- Richard Oakes and, for the first time, a keyboardist by the name of Neil Codling, a new line up and a new lease of life for the London band. The sound of "Coming up" is still very Suede, but very different at the same time, don't expect the theatrical vibe of Dog Man Star, instead be prepared to hear some fantastic guitar work, excellent songs and an all round sound that shows the true professionalism of a great British band. ...  Read the complete review

Suede's Coming Up album has to be one of the best they have ever produced. The album was crammed wall to wall with classic songs including the hits Trash, Film Star, and Beautiful Ones. It also had a few lesser known excellent tracks such as She, By The Sea and Saturday Night. The music now seems a little dated, as the rocky indie sound is now not so en-vogue (with everything going dancey, trancey, etc). But, if you like this kind of music then this album should be a must. It isn't that long at less than 45 minutes, but every inch is great great music. ...  Read the complete review