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Suede - Suede



Year Released: 1993

Label: Nude

Year Bought: 2005

Although I was a massive Britpop fan growing up, I didn't really get into Suede until I was at university.

My mind had always been fixed on Oasis and Blur, and then Radiohead (not Britpop, I know), and other than the big singles wasn't much across Anderson and Co.

At uni I read John Harris's book on Britpop, and while it was pretty shocking on the Oasis stuff, the details about Suede intrigued me.

I finally got their debut album in 2005 and didn't look back. What a record. Sleazy, sexy, overblown, 'Suede' has it all.

Is there any more more glorious bit in 90s music than when the chorus kicks in on 'Animal Nitrate', and Bernard Butler's guitar line sounds like hips wiggling? 

The big singles – 'Animal Nitrate', 'Metal Mickey', 'The Drowners' – still sound great today, and there's some other epic moments. 'Animal Lover' is pure glam, and 'Pantomime Horse' sounds like Mick Ronson playing the Smiths.

It's not a perfect album. 'Breakdown' drags a bit and you want a few more uptempo numbers.

But it's mostly great. Brett is in full 'bisexual who's never had a homosexual experience' with his lyrics, singing about the legal age for gay sex and how 'we kiss in his room to a popular tune.'

At times his voice is a bit Mockney, and Butler's guitar is a just a bit too right there all the time. 

Over 30 years on, it still feels like a breath of fresh air.

8/10


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