Coming Up

Suede's third album, and their first without main songwriter Bernard Butler, lacked none of their trademark glam rock and catchy melodies, but, crucially, it discarded the pomposity and indulgence that marred DOG MAN STAR. Instead, boosted by Richard Oakes' inventive guitarwork and the arrival of Neil Codling on keyboards, they presented a sparsely produced collection of Bowie-tinged pop songs. Brett Anderson's favourite lyrical themes--bored youth, casual sex, seedy urban life ("peepshows and freakshows") and escape from it--enjoyed free rein, but were predominantly framed within raunchy rockers rather than gloomy ballads. With the likes of "Trash", "Filmstar" and "She", Suede firmly established themselves as the godfathers of indie glam and offered some classic pop into the bargain.

Q (6/00, p.61)
- Ranked #96 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...A glam-rock crunch redolent of DIAMOND DOGS-era Bowie, while visualising mid-'90s youth as bored teens and beautiful losers. In their neon-lit world, the kids only come alive via pills, booze, sex and music..."

Rolling Stone (5/29/97, pp.49-50)
- 3 Stars (out of 5)
- "...Suede get back to pop basics, offering concise melodies and taut, brashly energetic arrangements..."

Spin (5/97, p.114)
- 8 (out of 10)
- "...Swinging free of their past, ignoring the football present, Suede concentrate on one sweet, super-trebly corner of the world. Madly devoted flash hounds, they erase the distance between 1973 and 1997 and triumph at their own game."

Entertainment Weekly (5/2/97, p.60)
- "...Suede return with a determinedly harder yet more buoyant offering. There's atmosphere aplenty, but radio-friendly nuggets rather than glam, histrionic set pieces are the order of the day." - Rating: B+

Alternative Press (2/97, pp.72-73)
- 5 (out of 5)
- "...Suede view this album as a brand-new beginning, and though the themes are familiar, low life and loveless, in many ways they're right....Busy, brave, bright, that's COMING UP..."