The London Suede have often been credited by the British press for starting the overhyped "Britpop revolution," and the band have certainly felt the sting of media backlash. But this third effort proves their mettle. If The London Suede set out to make an accessible pop record ("[they] have never been so pop," says the press release for their latest album), then I can safely say this - it's ridiculously accessible, in the sense that the songs are keenly-written, instantly hummable tunes that recall all their mentors, from Bowie to Bolan and everything in-between. With a cocky title and an attitude to match, the band have laid out ten tracks that shake with enough of the glittery guitar swagger of their self-titled debut yet expand on the finer, layered atmospherics of their highly-orchestrated second album, Dog Man Star.
So they've had a bit of trouble during their career. Much-beloved guitar virtuoso Bernard Butler (deemed by some critics as the band's sole talent) has long since gone, and the band (known as "Suede" everywhere except the U.S.) have had to bow to legal troubles, forcing them to change their name for American audiences. Then they dubiously found a replacement guitarist in a teenager who had only ever played to the audiences assembled in his bedroom (himself), and the band were generally forgotten or dismissed altogether. Americans (but fortunately, not music journalists) have had to wait months for an album that was released in late 1995 overseas. But through it all, they've succeeded. Lead singer and songwriter Brett Anderson and company have made an album that's quite good - great even. But *something* is missing.
Coming Up nicely straddles the line between Suede and Dog Man Star, and proves the band can come into their own despite massive internal shake-ups. I could've done without the slightly tinny production sound hanging over each song, but it bodes well for their live show. Richard Oakes's guitar may not be as elaborate or evocative as Bernard Butler's (although the intro to "Beautiful Ones" recalls the former guitarist's brilliant way with a riff), but he's formidable in his own right, and the songs reach a polished cohesiveness that was often lacking in their previous efforts. Simon Gilbert's stylishly stuttering drums and Mat Osman's seamless bass strike a satisfying balance with guitar and voice. The keyboards and backing vocals of recent addition Neil Codling (Gilbert's cousin) complete the London Suede arsenal. Whereas their previous albums sounded more like "Songs by Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler," Coming Up clearly defines the band as a whole.
What results is a balance between the metally brashness of the first album and the over-the-top indulgence of the second. The songs may not be as musically or emotionally intense as either of the first two albums, but you definitely can't deny that the album is filled with good and proper Pop - not "Britpop" or glamrock, but pure pop music. Songs like "By The Sea" take the melancholy beauty of empty souls of the first album's "Breakdown" and add the polished production of DMS's "Still Life" - the song is neither too little (sparseness of music as mood) nor too much (musical flamboyance). In other words, it's nearly perfect. Every track - from the contained wildness of the beautiful "Beautiful Ones" to the "sleaze-pop masterpiece" of debut British single "Trash" - aims for this same goal. Anderson's lyrical images of the elegance of England's seedy urban youth can get a bit redundant, but the mood and his ideal permeate the music. There are often some lightweight song structures, and rare are the lushness or intense interplay between guitar and man which characterised the Anderson/Butler compositions. It's one paradise lost, but then again there's a whole new world to explore.
The band infuse their musical landscape with catchy riffs, crunchy guitar, and lots of musical tongue-twisters: "cracked up, stacked up, 22, psycho for sex and glue." This lyrical theme reflects Coming Up as a whole: the landscapes are beautiful to look at and listen to, but they all scratch the beauty at the surface. The album is a bittersweet success in my eyes - they are undeniably good pop songs, but gone are the sexual angst, bitter loves, and internal tension that cut gorgeous blood-red swaths of musical intensity across the London Suede's first two albums.
Good or bad? You decide. I'm gonna go play the album again. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The American release of Coming Up is a special limited edition 2 disc collection containing videos, exclusive in-the-studio footage, band interviews, live material, and an Internet browser which allows fans direct access to an exclusive area on the London Suede's website (http://www.thelondonsuede.com).
The first CD in the package contains the songs "Trash," "Filmstar," "Lazy," "By The Sea," "She," "Beautiful Ones," "Starcrazy," "Picnic By The Motorway," "The Chemistry Between Us," and "Saturday Night." CD #1 also contains the U.S. version of the "Trash" video, the U.K. version of the "Beautiful Ones" video, a "hidden" version of the U.K. version of the "Saturday Night" video and exclusive studio recording and interview footage.
The second (or "bonus") CD in the limited edition Coming Up package contains six live musical tracks recorded at the Tivoli Theatre in Dublin, the Midtfyns Festival in Denmark, and the Tokyo Big Site Pop Stock in Japan: "She," "By The Sea," "Europe Is Our Playground," "Saturday Night," "Killing Of A Flashboy," and "Lazy." In addition, CD #2 contains live concert footage from Brighton (February 3, 1997) and Redding (February 5, 1997) including footage of the songs "Trash," "Lazy," "Saturday Night," "Beautiful Ones," and "By The Sea." CD #2 also includes "The Connection" which will lead the fan - via the Internet - into a very exclusive All Access area of the London Suede website. The All Access area will be frequently updated and is ONLY accessible through the Coming Up CD-ROM.
