This chapter of Suede is the group going from strength to strength, you can’t see them getting any better. They’re in their own realm at creating beautiful songs that soar and get into your heart like not many groups can. It sees Brett at his most majestic backed by the veteran sound of Gilbert, Osman, Codling and Oakes. Early single “Disintegrate” is as massive as ever until you get into “Dancing With The Europeans”. The title track, a dark gothic number, features a foreboding Osman bass line and Anderson combining spoken word with his trademark vocals and meaningful words that hark back to the sound of Teardrop Explodes and even a bit of The Horrors with a great drum beat crashing around with Oakes’ jangling guitars.
“Sweet Kid” is classic Suede that pulls punches with every note. Melodic and moody with a crisp drum sound and a trademark chorus from the masters. a glorious bag of songs that take your breath away. Does it do what “Autofiction” did? We say so.
Suede could be called many things, but boring isn’t one of them. Decades after their culture-shattering entry into the public consciousness as progenitors of Britpop, their tenth album vibrates with youthful vitality while brimming with age-appropriate lyrics that cast a darkness over middle age that’s as worrying as it is accurate.
In an interview earlier this year, the group’s bass player Mat Osman said “Antidepressants” is “very much Richard’s record,” referring to guitarist Richard Oakes, who joined Suede after the departure of Bernard Butler in 1994. Over the years, he’s woven his ’80s-rooted tastes (think The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, PiL) into the arty glam-rock Suede had established for themselves, and they come to a head here. Yet the album is anything but retro, and certainly not nostalgic. Produced by the group’s longtime collaborator Ed Buller, “Antidepressants” is one of the strongest of Suede’s career. It doesn’t carry the burden of Britpop, but even so, with its post-punk energy, it could easily have been Suede’s second release some three decades ago. Vocalist Brett Anderson spares no emotion in his razor-sharp words or unforgiving delivery, leaving the listener wrung out by his intelligent observations. The album is the second entry in the “Black and White” trilogy, preceded by the group’s “punk” album “Autofiction” in 2022, which leaves us wondering what they’ll come up with for the final installment.
Another great album by one of the best groups around.
The Fat Angel Sings 