Albums by this artist

Head Music (1999)

Coming Up (1997)

Sci-Fi Lullabies (1997)

Dog Man Star (1994)

The Drowners EP (1993)

Suede (Recommended) (1993)

Suede

Suede

---

» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

NATN Recommended Suede Suede Nude/Columbia, 1993 RiYL: Jeff Buckley's Grace, mid-'70s David Bowie, The Stone Roses

Suede was possibly the most-anticipated debut album of the '90s. After establishing itself with a string of three top ten singles and making the cover of Melody Maker as "England's Best New Band," Suede had yet to make a record. In all its rabid glory, Suede lived up to and surpassed its expectations, and remains the band's finest work.

The Suede sound finds its roots in the glam rock of the mid-'70s, but also draws highly on '80s emotional English pop performers like the Smiths and the Cure. Above a solid rhythm section, guitarist (and keyboardist) Bernard Butler establishes the songs' direction, while songwriting partner Brett Anderson's powerful high-end voice makes them soar toward the dark grey sky over London town.

The high-volume splendor of rockers "Animal Nitrate," "Moving" and "The Drowners" bathes the speedy crunch of the guitars in organ texturing and uplifting vocals.

On the softly elegant "She's Not Dead" and "Sleeping Pills," the tone evokes a wistful look through a rainy cafe window, Butler's guitar swirling around Anderson's poetic croon.

But the killer is "Breakdown," which starts musing softly on acoustic guitar, then building up through its exquisite, somber hook. The song moves into a steady lilt -- pulling back -- and eventually living up to its name, bass licks crashing through a barrage of melodic distortion as Anderson manages to exalt the lyric "Does your love only come in a Volvo?"

The Anderson/Butler songwriting partnership was a stellar one, and it found its best expression on the band's debut. Unfortunately, a sad chapter of the band's story would come only two years later when Butler quit the band on the eve of releasing its second album.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.