Reviews (page 5 of 8)
I am going 3.5 on this bad boy. Can't quite push it to a 4 but I was pleasantly surprised on it.
This one’s pretty good, I like their self titled album that came out before this one a little more though. 3.5
This played in the background while I worked. Look, they are good at playing their instruments, and this was a pleasant enough album, but I found it largely a snoozefest. Just kind of basic with little flares here and there. We are the Pigs stood out. New Generation had a David Bowie vibe. Good production, but the songs are middle of the road for me. It did seem to get better as it went on, but I can't bring myself to give it more than a 3.
New band for me. Kind of a bridge between the Smiths and early Radiohead with some David Bowie thrown in. Not bad, but upon first listen nothing super grabbed me, either. The singer was sometimes a little yodelly for me. There was one song, "Stay Together (Long Version)" that I had to tap out before the end. I guess what made it the long version was the extended sequence of layers upon layers of distorted cacophony. Interesting, but very grating. Fuck that (literal) noise. 3.5
Why why on this list? This album was about 50 minutes too long.
Definitely should have been shorter to stop the pain that it was
Okay so first off, these are the fools I have to thank for Britpop. Yippee. Secondly, I thought this could get a 4 through the first three songs, then I got gradually more irked as the album went on. This has got to be one of the most pretentious albums of all time, like Radiohead levels of "woe is me" poor tortured misunderstood artist. Bleh. Lyrics were pretentious, the way the fool sang, trying to be all dramatic and such, pretentious and bleh. This album just irritated me. Now I'm in a bad mood and have to listen to a Radiohead album so thanks for that album generator.
again-WHY so much Brit pop? and this one is a very poor one. vocals are poor. comes across as a Spinal Tap version of mid 90's alt/indie band that takes themselves too seriously.
Hate the production choices. There's probably a good cover of The Wild Ones. 2.4.
This started off ok but really dragged. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Painfully boring and 90's
This was disappointing. I know Suede and like pefer Coming Up or Sci-Fi Lullabies to this. Dare I say that in my opinion they're better post-Bernard Butler.
Not too sure of Suede. Sounds to me like a poor man's Bowie impersonator singing songs oasis and blur would have rejected.
When this came out, there was a lot of media hype for them, cause they looked good in magazines. The music was okay. Fine, but nothing exciting. It’s still fine, but ultimately not much more than that.
I've been pretty critical of the Britpop groups on this list and questioned why some of them are even on the list, as opposed to different albums, but here we are. Suede is a band I've heard of before, and have heard their songs, but never knew it was them. I guess Britpop was just a bit too much in the 90's and Oasis got way more popular here in the US than other bands. After hearing this album though, I appreciate the music. Not bad, but not drop dead amazing as everyone says it is. *shrug* 3/5
A lot better than I anticipated. I'd not realised how like Bowie his vocals are. Some good stuff in general although writing the day after nothing much has stayed with me
Bloated and lacking punch.
A trip down Memory Lane that I'd rather not revisit. Too many bad drugs.
First listen
Pues otro álbum de Britpop más para la colección. Comienza bastante bien, diferenciándose de la mayoría de álbumes de su época por ser más sofisticado (algunos lo llamarían pretencioso) e introspectivo. Es más interesante que la mayoría de álbumes por estilo a los que el generador me tiene acostumbrado, pero no me termina de convencer. Es larguísimo, y la segunda mitad es un tostón, la verdad, con temas muy autocomplacientes. Buena nota para la primera mitad, mala para la segunda. 2.5.
I feel like this one needs a couple more listens to really get into. Some really interesting moments on this, particularly where it descends into noise - whilst the vocals I remain undecided on. Could see how this might be someone's obsession though
Unfamiliar. Way good.
This album does not hold up. It comes across as factitious, no real originality
Britpop. Like the Blair government more flash than substance. This is ok. But I’m not sure. 2.5.
Suede was victim to the UK weekly music rag hype machine. They played a few gigs, appeared on the cover of the NME before they even had a single out, got called the greatest band in the world before they really paid any dues. It must be really easy for that to go to your head; you're getting great press, buying leather trousers, and doing coke with your hipsters buddies in some Camden pub. You're a big fish in a small pond! The NME says you're a genius! You were on Top of the Pops -- twice! One of your singles charted in the US, so you're just back from a gruelling American Tour that the band barely survived! And now it's time to record your difficult second (or third) album, and you have major ambitions to write a masterpiece, a work of lasting importance that will change rock and roll forever. And here we are at Dog Man Star. Some call this album a masterpiece. Some call it the most pretentious album of all time. I don't think it is either. It's like a record of Bowie at his most bombastic, full of melodrama and overblown, over-arranged songs. Surprisingly coherent, given the band broke up while recording it, taking their musical force out of the band. Efforts were hampered by internecine band warfare, egos, and heavy drug use. This is a fair album, a brave swing for the outfield that doesn't quite get there. I admire the ambition, even if it does veer into self-importance (think U2 at their worst). I really could have done without so much reverb slathered over EVERYTHING, which tends to turn this into a muddy mess to listen to. Yesterday I reviewed OK Computer, which was recorded under similar circumstances, and I believe actually achieved the band's ambitions. Radiohead's efforts were bolstered by greater discipline and band unity, which were sadly lacking for Suede, although no less pretension.
Sounds like Muse. Not for me.
2 mediocre across the whole thing
Low 4 Not as good as their first, but side B is all killer
interesting, didnt listen very close tbh
Another tough one to find and had to listen to it on YouTube. And another tough listen. It had its moments as an album to put one asleep.
Had listened to the debut album before (and saw them live around then), but never this. Most of it is pretty great, though there's a couple of tracks that don't quite work for me (Still Life was one). The Asphalt World had a nice krautrock vibe, and is the standout track for me. I liked the guitar tones a lot in (e.g.) This Hollywood Life.
Better than expected.
It’s a great album which is definitely their high point and one of the highs of britpop. I think of a time for me and us Brits. But I appreciate this more than I did at the time and definitely more in the context of this project and the competition.
I think I have reached my breaking point - I can't take it any more. If there is one more "English Alternative" Album on here that all sound like the same boring drivel ... I don't know .. But, ugh ... Why do they keep doing this to me?
Just had this band five albums ago. Still don't like this guy's voice. The whole thing sounds regressive for 1994, a time when rock bands in general were innovating pretty fearlessly.
Dog Man Star by Suede. It's great stuff, I didn't love suede self titled+ thought it was fine but it was also album number 22) where as this I got into alot, I don't think it's flawless but it grabbed me enough to get a 4
Not their best - too mellow. band with very unique sound.
What a bore. Hate the vocals.
boi got cheeks
Ein paar wenige gute Lieder..
I tried. Wasn't for me. Very easy to not pay attention to this. Bland to annoying. Would not listen again. If I owned this I would give it away. Two stars.
I really didn't enjoy this but I got the feeling that this is definitely someones favourite album.
BIG album within certain cliques at my school. Never saw the hype then, still unsure now
Suede's sophomore album sound pretty close to their debut, in my opinion. It's good and prettty influential to the whole Britpop movement. Not much else to say about it. Nice butt btw. Key tracks: We Are the Pigs The Wild Ones
Some cool moments, but Generally, too much of the wrong things. It seemed overdressed to me.
So I really missed the whole Brit pop thing while I was busy with other stuff back on the 90s. Turns out I kind of dig it.
It was infinitely better to read about this album, then actually listen to it. No wonder Suede is pretty forgotten now, even though music is not that bad, the vocal makes it a super long slog. Britpop? Only Blur, Oasis and Supergrass.
I’m leaning more toward the early assessment, “one of the most pretentious albums ever released by a major label.” Its growth in critical acclaim is fairly meaningless when considering quality or talent. Plenty of ugly old things are now considered priceless… yet it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still pretty damn ugly. Such is the life of the lazy art reviewing industry.
Few artists/bands deserve 2 spots on the list. Altough I really enjoyed the first Suede album I got here, I was skeptical about this one. Now I can state that it was great and I'm sure that Suede is a band that deserves their 2(?) spots.
Don't have a ton to say. It's very Bowie, pretty good. Just not really into it much, and sounds pretty dated for a 90's album.
Beautiful, inspiration for POND?
This isn't out right bad... It just feels so uninspired. It sounds like every other late 80s/early 90s Brit alt rock albums that this list is rife with. I've gotten so many of these, I think I hit my breaking point. Also, 1994? This album sounds both behind and ahead of the times, in the worst ways. I like this line from Wikipedia: "In contrast to their debut album 'Suede', which exhibited the influences of David Bowie and the Smiths,[1] Dog Man Star exhibits a more varied aesthetic and draws from a wider range of influences." No it doesn't. It sounds like a cheap knock off of both the Smiths and Bowie. There is nothing special about this album and listening felt like a waste of an hour.
Heard the name when growing up but never knew any songs and after this I still don't... The 90s and 00s seem to have a bunch of bands that just existed. That being said it's not bad but I don't really see anything unique or memorable about this.
You can’t spell ‘pretentious’ without ‘pretty’. You’d have to misspell it like ‘prettie’, though.
Didn't hold my attention at all
took a while but I fell asleep to this
I have scattered memories of Suede from childhood. There’s one that’s just Brett Anderson going up (or “coming up”?) on an escalator – we’re at the top but crouching down, seeing him steadily appear – there’s a lot of blue and black, and I’m wondering why they’re in Meadowhall after everyone’s gone home to bed already. It’s around that time that I’m told by various men about the importance of a good hifi (perhaps not literally, but rather through the decisiveness of their actions when around a tall all-in-one and general seriousness of their expressions). There’s the bloke my mum’s mate is going out with who likes to play Garbage on repeat. There’s the fella next door who puts Toploader on and has it blasting out his conservatory while he tends to the BBQ. And then there’s grandad, who I don’t actually remember ever seeing interact with his hifi system but had some cool looking CDs. It’s the 90s, and we are shiny disc – don’t scratch it! – worshipping audiophiles. And it’s here, in this groove of memory (I’m analogue, sorry), that I place my impression of Suede. A band who could give a home speaker system a ruddy good run even if they don’t do much else for a listener like me. This is all absolutely fine. There are really well crafted hooks (“The wild ones”), very tasteful nods to their influences (Bowie, especially throughout) and some stirring atmospherics (“The asphalt world” is a personal highlight). There’s often a bit too much – guitar, whining, strings, song, songs – though, and the accusation that this is a pretentious record certainly starts to feel fair by the ”Still life”’s final “swell”. But it’s also a portentous record, in many ways – something like “The Black Parade”, for example, feels like a spiritual cousin. I’ll pay it the due respect, but likely no more.
90s alt rock. We Are The Pigs is a good song. Heroine is good too. New Generation as well. The 2 of Us also. The Asphalt World is very good. There might have been a couple standard songs but this one gets the seldom 5.
mun betra en ég óttaðist. það var líklega ekki fyrr enn á næstu plötu sem þeir hófu að sjúga lim kölska af áfergju. 3,5.
Favorite Track: We Are the Pigs
Rich voice, emotional delivery, lovely instrumentation, a bit overwrought lyrically. Extra star for the cover art.
I listened to about half of the album. Yes, the music was okay. But overall I found it a bit boring. I wasn't interested in the album. That's why I didn't listen to it all the way through. I also wonder why this album is one of the 1000 albums you should have heard. 3/5
Heard some Bowie and Morrissey influences on this one. Upon first listen the only tracks that really stood out for me were Daddy’s Speeding and Still Life. I gave it another run and tried to pay closer attention and yea, I just found it to be a tad meandering without enough hooks beyond the mopey vocals to fully draw me in. It was fine but I won’t return. 3 stars
The album is okay. But the his voice is really buggin me , kinda theatrical vibe to it really annoys me.
I really enjoyed this.
I feel like this album gaslit me, because by the end I was wondering if I had somehow switched to a different record without realizing. The first half is generic alt rock that didn't stand out in a particularly positive or negative way (although I didn't like the occasional falsetto). The second half was very different and the last track might have been the end credits to a movie. Then the first bonus track was maybe my favorite song? Weird.
Whiny shite
Cool album, not gimmicky like some 90’s Brit pop bands.
It's okay, nothing remarkable.
4.5★. An improvement on their already fabulous self-titled debut... Just thoroughly and absolutely gorgeous and beautiful. 261 albums in and this is my second first-listen five-star album (after Stankonia). Love it love it love it.
Of what I know, Suede is easily my least favorite of the big four Britpop bands. They lean a lot more into a post-punk sound that is pretty hit and miss with me. At its best, I find this album agreeably energetic and somewhat melodic. At its worst, I find it overwrought and/or anonymous. Although I don’t think I’d say I outright dislike any of it, I think almost everything I’ve heard by Oasis, Blur, and Pulp is more interesting or appealing. 3/5
Better than expected, like the tracks with orchestra on
This seems the sort of record that one should like a good bit more, being right in one's sweet spot. The potential of the first record also seemed a positive harbinger. One can't escape the feeling that these guys took themselves too seriously and were mabye trying too hard. The orchestral excess of "Still Life" is more bombast than one wants from Britpop and there's too many glam effects througout. "The Wild Ones" is generally satisfying, but veers dangerously close to melodrama in the spirit of Scott Walker and Trafalgar-era Bee Gees. "The Power" has the same issue, though with a slightly more hair-band power-ballad vibe. Indeed, the overdone vocals are a recurring problem. This group is well outside the Britpop top 3 anyway, being nowhere near as cheeky as Pulp, nor as shape-shifty as Blur, nor as gloriously bloated and over-the-top (try though they might) as Gallagher, Inc. As such, do they really have the stature to jusify "Introducing the Band" (even allowing for new personnel)? There are some undeniably good bits ("Stay Together" and "Whipsnade" closer, which might not have been on album in first place). But too much is just replacement level Britpop which is not enough to hold a place in the Pantheon (at least one's own personal Pantheon). Certainly this record doesn't deserve anniversary editions (though neither does the debut).
Pleasantly surprised by this one. Will check out the rest of their stuff
Great 90's album that ends on a euphoric note in "Still Life". It started a bit weak, but every track was stronger than the last.
Reminds me of Bowie, or at least his good stuff. Yes it does get a bit pretentious at times, but never crosses the line where it'd start getting on my nerves. Some of these songs are real bops, I'm surprised they weren't bigger hits, because I've never heard of those guys. 4 stars
At times almost unlistenable, at times great.
Interesting. Nicely done.
It’s alright. But it won’t help save Brit pop from my worst genres in my summary. 90s brit pop rarely hits the sweet spot: it’s either trying too hard to be clever - like this and Blur, or it’s too dumb (Oasis). The only one I really liked so far is The Verves Urban Hymns.
• 3/5 • all the elements of a great 90s britpop album present, but doesn’t quite hit the mark • overwrought, over-orchestrated, and too precious by half - Suede trying to out-Oasis Oasis
Some of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, til the second half
Excessive and ridiculous. The soundtrack of egos inflated by early success. Interesting from a rock history point of view, but not necessarily enjoyable. I could die without it, to be honest. Some good playing though. Production was spotty, also overblown (the orchestra is insultingly cliche).
Vocals throw me off. Guitar work is cool.
This was ok
Never heard of this band or album. Not sure i was missing out on much.
Not as good as the first album - shame really
I love the style and sound of 90s music in general. So I was excited I had never heard of this one but ultimately it’s just whatever. It’s fine, it want to be David Bowie while failing to do so.
Good listen.
Seems fine, but nothing really stuck out to me.
It was good music, so far as these things go, but I didn’t get grabbed by anything in it.
meh
Quite a nice listen
I never heard of this group but I did enjoy listening to them.
I don't know, man. I'm honestly surprised at the number of five (not even four) star reviews for this, and the number of people who say it's top 5 Britpop. Granted, my bar for Britpop is now very low, but this just seemed so ordinary. It was supposed to be big and sprawling and almost prog, but it just seemed like an album of fine, but forgettable, songs of medium length. I'm not sure how this album actually became divisive, but it's at least not among my one-star albums.
I thought this was okay. Nice light 90s rock. Didn’t really have the one or two songs to go beyond ‘nice’ 6/10
I like Suede. I believe we reviewed their album The London Suede not too long ago. This album seems to lack a lot of the power of that album and comes off as pretty flat and disorganized by comparison.
Music for people that love that insufferable twat, Morrissey.
Suede’s debut was our #27. Here they are back, a year later for them, three and a half years and 950 albums later for us near the end of the journey. And so many Britpop albums of annoying voices in between. I may have had more patience for it before. Back then, I said that: “I could definitely see myself listening to Suede again. I will agree that I don't dig the singer's voice at times, which is what is going to keep this album from earning ****. Sometimes - sometimes - I really like the way he uses his voice, with short sudden high notes and quick swings to the lower register. But too often he hits that sweet spot of saccharine Sussex accent that makes pretentious-ass sick to their stomach and disrupts their bowels.” To no surprise, I have not actually listened to Suede again in the interim. And I’m now hearing too much of the saccharine Sussex and not enough of the short sudden swings. And that was before things got worse with “The 2 Of Us” and “Black and Blue.” So where did they go wrong after a promising debut? Well… touring with the Cranberries as their opener before this album, they may have gotten jealous that the Cranberries were getting bigger than them… the guitarist was on too much acid, and left the band during the recording of this album… they may or may not have created Britpop, but grew to hate it (kind of with them on that, as they describe it as a “whole boozy, cartoon-like, fake working-class thing”)... but the Britpop bands that followed them (Blur, Oasis, and Pulp particularly) eclipsed them… and they changed their name to London Suede, because a Maryland singer owned the US rights to the name Suede (and then they proceeded to never be a big deal in America). Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch were with Suede before their debut album, and would go on to form Elastica, which wasn’t long-lasting but also had a bigger hit than anything Suede did with “Connection.” Which still rocks, by the way. All of which is to say that things did not turn out for Suede the way they may have hoped or envisioned. The potential still shows up on occasion. (See “Asphalt World.”) But the reviewers who called it “pretentious,” “pompous,” and “overblown” were spot-on.
There must not have been very much happening in the British music scene in 1994 for this to stand out. Underwhelming.
Not enough here to listen all the way through.
Can’t say that I am too familiar with Suede. A dark and melancholic album. Some of the guitar work really shines. Some good songs and heavily influenced by Bowie. 3⭐️
Day372 - i’ll keep trying but so far other than oasis you can count me out of the brit pop genre.
I’d forgotten I quite liked Suede back in the day.
First half of the album feels like it deserves an album in itself - great sound, with clear influences but still sounding unique. Second half lets it down a bit though, it just gets a bit weird from "The Two Of Us" onwards and kinda looses the nice balance it had. Still think was worth a listen and an enjoyable one.
Heard it before. The Asphalt World used to be my song to look at the wall and be sad to. This Hollywood Life is another track I love. The overall mood of the album is quite gloomy but I think I like it better than their first album. Feeling generous today so I'm giving it 4/5
It's very telling that my anglophile wife who loves all things britpop has never brought these guys up.
Meh. Kind of Bowie vibes, kind of Smiths vibes. Nothing stood out. Could have been worse but could have been a lot better.
Dang somebody’s listened to a lot of Bowie. You're the star man now, dog
what a nice surprise, had I not looked into it I wouldve clocked this album as being a more modern release than something from 30 years ago. You can hear the Bowie influence through the vocals, it actually reminds me a little of Rush here and there. I think Heroine is my pick off this one. Also it has a somewhat uplifting vibe despite the nature of the alt rock genre. Great entry.
So this album was a total surprise. A nice mix of styles and sounds. Don’t let the man’s taint on the front cover dissuade you from checking it out. Loved the lead singers voice. Reminded me of older Geddy Lee
Stunning. A lot of Bowie, but also so much unique, spacey vibe. I love it. 4.5/5
slow britrock. While good I feel like I've heard it before even before I listened to the album. Nothing wrong with the music but nothing that makes me seek it out. While the singer has a good voice and I don't dislike the songs on this album, Beautiful Ones is the only song that I know by Suede and I don't think any song on this album will stick with me enough to remember it.
If it wasn't for the typical 90s muddy production I'd actually like this album a lot more
A bit more off-center than their debut, Dog Man Star shows Suede's development away from their own creation as Blur and Oasis came to champion the main space. I do not feel it comes off pretentious as many others have noted, but a misunderstood pushing of boundaries. Not overwhelming, yet a definable classic of the era. 3.5/5
Very good britpop
Not a classic
I like new generation and some of the other songs, but it’s below Brit pop I haven’t listened to from Oasis and Radiohead. Went down from 4 to 3
Mellow
Quite liked this one, pleasantly surprised. Went a bit moaning Bowie in the middle but some good catchy songs in there. Fave: The Power
Ok so clearly this album is overblown and pretentious but part of me admires the route they took with this as the rest of the country was hurtling headlong into Britpop. A few of the songs are decent and I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Stay Together and We Are The Pigs is decent. Problem is there are equally a number of songs that are just quite boring and don’t offer much. The potential for something differently interesting and good in the face of Britpop was there but it just doesn’t really fulfil the promise.
Bunch of pretentious wankers! I have always hated Suede, mainly because of the screeching vocals and this one doesn’t change my mind. I am guessing the debut will be better as it helped shape Britoop, but so glad the music scene pivoted away from this lot onto the likes of Nirvana, Oasis, Radiohead etc.
Ok, but never quite hits the heights of their debut
I remain baffled by this list putting albums of artists in when they were halfway changing direction and which clearly isn’t their best material (Kid A, for example, I’m also looking at you). Here we go again. Anyway, Suede’s debut album was and is stunning (must be in the list to come, surely). It was peak Butler guitar style (he’s never been the same since) and Anderson in fine fettle. This album just loses some of their edginess by slowing everything down in a variety of ways and the guitar lead often vanishes somewhat. There’s still a sniff of the old form in We are the Pigs and This Hollywood life (great tune), but all in all it’s a bit flat. I guess illustrated by Butler quitting before it was finished. Come on list, let’s skip some of these albums.
Suede in 92 was a bit of a classic, this is not.
We Are The Pigs // The Wild Ones // The Power // The Asphalt World // Still Life // 3.5/5
This confirmed that Suede are not my taste. I even tried listening to their first album to see if I was missing something, but gave up on that after the first few songs. I'm hearing Bowie in their sound, but none of these songs connect with me like his have. They're good at what they're doing I guess, it's just not for me.
It's too feely, too slow
Comfy rock, there isn't really more to it.
If it rocked out more, it would have been a great album. But there's too many ballads that bring this one down a bit. Decent but could have been better.
Pretty boring and generic. Standouts songs: The Power Asphalt
HL: “We Are the Pigs”, “New Generation”, “2 of Us” Liked it more than the last (London)Suede
Solid album
Pretty good. Rockier than expected, but vocal style is a bit off-putting: Bowie style big high notes, without Bowies tunes and voice.
This album had a weird familiarity for me. It felt like something I’d listened to and loved before in such a weird way. I’ve never really experienced that before. I’m wondering if maybe it reminded me of something that I really liked when I was younger — maybe Echo and the Bunnymen or something. I’m still not too sure. I did like it to say the least. I might like it more with a few more listens. As it stands I would give it a 3.75-4
Pretentious and boring. Not much more to say. I was relieved when it was over.
Not really sure what he was on about, but consider me out of the loop
I've been a lifelong fan of most of David Bowie's eras, but I've never been a fan of Brit-Pop since listening to Suede's COMING UP in 1997, and the barrage of Oasis, Blur, and The Verve records throughout that era. This album manages to capture more of the DIAMOND DOGS, THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST, THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, vibes that I am convinced that DOG STAR MAN references. All of which makes the album a bit more listenable than the records of the previously mentioned bands but not by much. The best British Commonwealth music, of the 90s, in my opinion, is actually the albums of Depeche Mode, The Cranberries, Seal, Sting, The Prodigy, Billy Idol's CYBERPUNK, U2, and The Chemical Brothers who were all creating something new instead of desperately trying to recapture an era of British rock and pop that had already been explored to death.
I enjoyed this one! Nothing was super catchy or memorable but it was still a good listen.
Really enjoyed this, it felt pretty Bowie-esque at times.
A sensação é de estar ouvindo o vocalista do INXS em outra banda, o que não é ruim. O disco vai crescendo conforme vai chegando ao fim. É um disco que faz nos relembrar o quão importante é ouvir a sequência correta das faixas.
Listened Before? N Pretty good pop record. I can see how it may have been considered a bit pretentious at the time (anyone who lists Morrisey as an influence runs this risk anyway), it seems to have held up well and - in context of overall 90s pop/rock - is a solid contribution. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Heroine
A little of this band goes a long way.
So meh.
6/10 - It kind of sounded like david bowie but most of the songs were worse. For some reason I loved new generation tho.
Fine. Mostly boring, couple good songs
3.5/5
soaring and overdramatic, almost cinematic, and brett anderson has the voice of a fallen angel
Starts weak but by “The Last generation” I was hooked. The guitar work in particular is excellent
Not my fave. 2/5
It was whatever. Would rather just listen to Bowie. How these guys competed with blur oasis and Pulp is beyond me.
Definitely can see the building blocks of britpop. The large string arrangements and soaring guitars. The vocals bridge the gap between Bowie and Pulp/Blur. That being said it was good not great on first listen. Will revisit
Bryan mentioned this reminds him of Bowie and that is spot on. However, there are some unique aspects as well, so with a mix of Bowie, 90s and some Beatles, this was a pleasure to listen to.
A surprisingly enjoyable album for having virtually no streams on Spotify (I guess that’s part of my metric in gauging an albums “greatness”)! Seems to be under the label of “Brit Pop” but I thought it was kind of psychedelic at times. 3.5/5
I agree with Dylan, some pretty good songs on the first listen that deserve a relisten, but overall it doesn’t seem like a great album
I mean, I like Bowie as much as the next guy. But it’s a bit much, innit?
I really dug this album. I need more Suede in my life I guess. Good listen.
Slow and methodical to its detriment at times. Some standouts but overall just kinda fine
Good
This feels a bit like how Hugh Grant's character in Paddington 2 wants to do a one man show. It's got some talent but is clearly so deep into its own thing that it can't really make sense or be good. I always appreciate someone going for it but considering the things that must have inspired this, it doesn't feel like it's treading any especially new ground. I really hope they enjoyed making it and if I heard they had other things like this I'd give it a chance to see if it grew. May not be the best thing to have on the list. Still Life got fun at the end when it got orchestral.
Is this a U2 cover band?
A lighthearted album with touches of excitement. I agree with some other reviews, it feels very Bowie-esque at times. 3.5/5
Really good!
Interesting
Better towards the end. Second half acceptable.
The folly of Brit-Pop. Suede collaspse in on themselves by believing their own hype and writing a concept record of such bloated pomposity, I suppose it really is a marvel. It's just a drag. Best Tracks: We Are The Pigs; The Wild Ones; New Generation
Nothing special. Not bad, but just very mediocre. Just didn't do much for me.
2.5
Not as bad as I remember it being 30 years ago.
- Wow, the opening songs are great! - Meh, vocal doesnt move me, but music is really nice - Only 3/5
2.4 1x
Atmospheric again and unique, need to listen again
Bland enough, but I like it - perhaps because I remember when it was new.
This did not stand out on first listen, but I felt like I definitely needed to listen to it again, and I knew I had the weekend without new albums to do so. I realized throughout the weekend that I wasn't exactly excited to give it another listen. Finally did a little late, and a few songs jumped out a little better on the second listen. I'll try again someday. This is the album that made me confirm my suspicion that the author of the 1001 book is British. I really think a lot of these British works would not have made the cut if the organizer of the list weren't British. But there are groups I never would have heard of without that, so it's okay.
Brilliant
Also eh. I’ve concluded I do not like Brit rock at all
Not into it at all unfortunately
Like Suede, but prefer other records.
218/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
decent, didn't blow me away, but ok.
Given it's only their 2nd album, it fees very early to have lost this much excitement. There is almost certainly beauty to be found in this for the right listener but I feel bored after the promise of raw sex from their earlier singles
Ik ben behoorlijk verdeeld over dit album, Amerika is er niks bij. Aan de ene kant is het verfrissend voor een 'Britpop' album om zo grandioos, verrassend en levendig te zijn. Geen één song is verwaarloosd, en elk nummer is met de passie bezongen en bespeeld alsof het de main single was. Maar dat grootse, zowel muzikaal als vocaal, slaat wel echt te vaak om in theatraliteit. En de gelijkenis met Bowie is nooit ver weg. Dit vond ik in het begin van het album nog wel leuk, maar toen het vijfde nummer langskwam waar letterlijk elk moment zo van een 'Ziggy Stardust' of een 'Aladdin Sane' kon komen, was voor mij de koek op. Die over-de-top performances lieten het album een beetje voelen als een David Bowie-musical. De reeks vanaf 'Heroine' tot aan 'New Generation' voelde te veel als een coverband dan als Suede. Ik ken hun eerste album best goed, en daar weten ze toch wel echt een unieke, eigen sound tentoon te stellen. Op deze plaat valt dat soms te betwijfelen. 'New Generation' en 'This Hollywood Life' zijn wat meer classic Britpop in het straatje Pulp, en slaan daardoor ook wel lekker aan, vooral na die toch wel een beetje ongemakkelijke David Bowie show. Daarna valt de plaat helaas weer een beetje terug in oude gewoontes, tot 'Asphalt World'. Dat is een aardige song, met een crescendo zoals Roxy Music dat deed in z'n beste jaren. Dit had ook absoluut de afsluiter moeten zijn, wat mij betreft, en niet het tenenkrommende 'Still Life'. Maar die past dan ook wel weer, als de credits van de David Bowie biopic rollen. Ik heb toch wel genoten van wat de leadsinger met zijn stem kan en doet, waar sommige songs toch aanvoelen als een duet. Hij switcht echt moeiteloos tussen verschillende toonladders, echt ongekend. En daarnaast zijn de glamrocky gitaren op dit album ook wel echt on point. Maar over het algemeen heb ik me vooral verbolgen over het gebrek aan eigen geluid dat ze er uiteindelijk mee weten te vormen. 6/10 Highlights: We Are The Pigs New Generation The Asphalt World
Suede wordt vaak genoemd in het A-rijtje met Blur en Oasis als de echte 90's britpop revelaties. Nu brachten ze Dog Man Star inderdaad ook in 1994 uit, verder is dit album weinig vreugde-verhogend. Wat de britpop-collega's zeker wel is gelukt. Dus niet meer dan terecht dat Suede nooit echter echt bij mij op de radar is gekomen. Een bekende hit (die nu nog steeds voortleeft) kan ik ze dan ook niet toeschrijven. Er zitten op Dog Man Star best wat interessante werkjes tussen, maar géén van allen heeft het in zich een echte stadionbanger te zijn. Het album is daarnaast veels te lang om in z'n geheel tot grote hoogten te stijgen. Wat overblijft zijn de schamele momenten in nummers die tot de verbeelding spreken. Helaas is dat niet genoeg om hier nou een heel enthousiaste review over te kunnen schrijven. Suede mag weer terug op het B-lijstje van 90's britpop artiesten. 6/10 Highlights This Hollywood Life The Asphalt World
Perfectly average
Just listen to Pulp.
Not bad. The Asphalt World was good. Can't listen to the whole thing cause I'm busy.
surprisingly entertaining
not as good as self titled but still some good brit pop
I appreciate what this band was trying to do - a little shoegaze/glam/art rock/etc mash up. Was it successful? Nope.
I enjoyed some of this, but the album and many of the songs overstayed their welcome. This could have been a decent 40 minute album, but the 19 minutes or so of filler ruined the experience.
Interesting one. I like the first Suede album, with it being the originator of Britpop and everything. But this one was a bit long and not enough to get you going. Simpsons: No
Didn't think I'd like this. It was different to what I usually listen to, but I did actually enjoy it. Went on a bit too long, but still going to be generous and give a 4.
This wasn't as depressing as their other album; however, nothing left a lasting impression on me.
I didn’t know what to expect, I really enjoyed the vibe. Felt unique enough
some infamously muddy murky production on this that isnt quite of a piece with the bright and dramatic arrangements, but i can at least put up with bad/questionable production as long as its not actively physically unpleasant on my ears. otherwise....uh, i think i loved literally everything about this HFJKHSFJKHFSJKHFSJKFHSJKFHKFS regardless of how its presented the musical palate on here is incredibly comforting to me...ridiculously heart-on-sleeve, melodic, autumnal, and expressive. its not often rock music with this much of a glam/theatrical edge feels this intimate, but its testament to how it feels like theres just no barrier whatsoever between the sound and the emotions. im rly thankful for artists who just throw themselves into stuff like this thats maybe easily mockable but is so so much For Me and id be sad to live in a world without. deffo one to come back to for me...have a feeling increased familiarity might make this one a lil transcendent
really like black or blue - cool song
I don’t have any introductory background information on this band to really start this review. So I’m just going to get straight into my thoughts. This album is surprisingly recent. For a record released in 1994, it very much harkens back to the sound of the three decades prior. It takes some of the most impactful and popular genres in British rock music history, such as glam rock and psych rock, and brings them together with the Britpop sound that was thriving during the period this was released. And all of these things together makes an art rock hodgepodge of really dense and almost dirty sounding instrumentals. It’s an interesting mix, and one that seemed to be revived generally pretty well. So I went into this with hopes for something decent. Little did I know this would turn out to be one of the most boring listening experiences I have had in a very long time. To really sum it all up, this album is just mind-numbing and boring. An absolute slog that I felt well overstayed its welcome, being nearly an hour long. This is due to the track length being, on average, about four to five minutes. Not horrible really, but when put in this context, it is a struggle to get through. These songs aren’t plain necessarily, but I was left uninterested even after the first or second song had ended. And it just felt like they were repeating the same kind of sound, ad nauseam, for another ten songs. They were pulling from so many unique spaces, and didn’t manage to stick the landing on any of them. The singer also wants to be David Bowie so badly. And there are moments where he actually sounds quite similar. But I mean that in the worst way possible. It took until the second to last song for me to find something I wasn’t being put to sleep by. And you know what, I’ll give them credit where it’s due. The Asphalt World is pretty good actually. And the closing track isn’t half bad either. But this album as a whole is just more proof to me that the “Britpop” movement of the 90s was not as good as people remember it being. Rating: 3/10
Suprised me
I dont hate it, but I sure dont love it either. Its OK at best, and derivative and boring at worst. Nothing I'll ever listen to again. 1/5
3.75
This was pretty bad.
I listened to it and it didn't hurt my ears but wasn't particularly memorable so a nice safe 2.5 round up to 3
It took me a while to warm up to this but by the end of the album I was enjoying it. A little long but it was a solid album with a David Bowieish vibe. The song The Asphalt World sounds so familiar but I can’t place where I’ve heard it. 2. We Are The Pigs 8. The Hollywood Life 11. The Asphalt World 8/10
Pretty neutral feelings on this one. It reminded me the Echo and the Bunny men album at times. Album cover: (C+)
After the first minute of this album I thought I was going to hate it but ended up really into it. I wasn't listening super well but found it enjoyable. Kit has got me paying way more attention to album covers than I ever have and this one is very provocative, I like it.
I'm listening to this one a little distractedly. Liking it a lot so far. "Daddy's Speeding" is good enough to make me tab over and see what song is playing. "New Generation" mentions the Astral Plane. Modern Lovers had a whole song about that yesterday. Odd coincidence to have two bands using that phrase in two days. 7/10
I'm not sure if putting this near The Divine Comedy is helping me differentiate between the two. As with Casanova, I liked this album, but it doesn't really stand out with even a couple of listens. There seems to be an attempt by Brit bands to respond to commercial success by becoming more esoteric and intricate. Cool and nice to dig into, probably rewarding multiple listens, but upon initial listens it just sounds like a dude who is a bit obsessed with sex.
I really liked this one but felt like it lost steam ab it by the end.
Okay. Ville ikke skippa sangene, men legger ikke til heller. 3
Is it Floyd? / Where is Kate? / Room full of Roxy ? / Echo but no Bunnymen? / Grandezza! / Exaltation! / I hate Britpop, Oasis, Pulp, Blur… but THIS? Awesome
The Good: non-grunge in the ´90s era. The Bad: it isn´t grunge in the ´90s era. The Ugly: trying to figure out if Dog Man Star is a reference to the album cover, and if so… Don´t really know what to think about this album. I like certain numbers, then just kind of wonder what the hell they were thinking with other ones. Personally I believe this should have been released years earlier for it to be viewed as avant-garde… now it´s neither avant, and obviously there was no garde as you can see by the album cover. 3*
I had a friend who bought this album 30 years ago. I also remember him throwing it out the car window while I was driving 90 down A1A at night.
Not for me
I hear the Beatles, I hear David Bowie, I hear U2 I hear punk, I hear glam rock, I hear folky-lyrics. I enjoyed listening to this diverse and controversy album, that never got boring. Like a good novel, bit you read it once and that's good.
I am not a fan of Britpop. This album was better than I expected. I can hear the Bowie and Pink Floyd influences and I liked several songs on the album. The rest didn't really resonate with me, so I gave it a 3. My favorite tracks are: "The Asphalt World", "The Power", "The Wild Ones", and "Heroine".
His vocals really remind me of Bowie at times. Which makes this sound pretty good. Like a Bowie rock band. Good stuff
This album is deep, dark, and fascinating. Suede’s magnum opus. I put it on the same bucket with Manic Street Preachers and Placebo. Love its textures, suffering… a perfect album.
The sound of being turned up to eleven, the sound of a band tearing itself apart, the sound of...pretty much everything from the kitchen sink arrangements, OTT Brett vocals, extended run times. But at the heart is some solid gold songwriting. After this flirt with extinction Suede would regroup sans Bernard, and while they'd make more fine albums never again would they sound so dangerous.
Het klinkt als een soort reserve-U2, wel aardig gedaan hoor, maar er wordt naar mijn idee geen echt nieuw terrein verkend. Af en toe zweeft het wat richting het schoenenstaar-genre, maar verder degelijke achtergrondpop.
Vrij snel krijgen we We Are the Pigs. Zo'n nummer dat je 1000 keer op de radio hebt gehoord. Ik had het wat recenter ingeschat. Echt zo'n radionummer. Je zet het nooit uit jezelf op, maar zet het ook niet per se af. De muziek zou onder 1000en andere nummers passen. Niets mis mee, maar niet bijzonder. Het bijzondere moet dan van de stem komen. Die komt in dit hit wel aardig naar voren. Maar dat is meer uitzondering dan regel op dit album. Af en toe doet het stemgebruik me wat denken aan U2. Niet mijn smaak dus. Het album is wat gevarieerd, wat ik wel nodig heb met dit soort muziek. Dieptepunt is (Give me, give me, give me-e) the power (Lalala). Met een 2,5 mogen ze blij zijn.
Ik heb het uiteraard al vaak gehad over de selectie van de snobs. Maar hier hebben we toch wel weer een bijzondere keuze. Ik heb zelf niet per se heel veel met Suede, dus mij persoonlijk zal het niet zo veel boeien. Maar ik heb toevallig wel een classic albums aflevering gezien over Suede. En die ging over het 3e album Coming Up. Terwijl in onze snoblijst alleen de eerste 2 albums staan van Suede. Onbegrijpelijk, maar inmiddels verbazen me de keuzes van de snobs niet meer. Om terug te komen op die docu, daardoor kan ik Suede wel meer waarderen. De stem van de zanger moet je namelijk eerst wel even aan wennen. En zo'n docu helpt daar altijd wel bij, aan het wennen. Daarna kun je je dan meer aan de muziek gaan wagen. Wat het gemeen heeft met een band als Oasis, zijn met name de gitaren. Een moddervette muur aan geluid. En zolang die muur er is, is het fijne muziek om te luisteren. Als het wat langzamere ballads worden, dan komt die typische stem iets teveel om de hoek zetten. Het wordt dan wat te theatraal allemaal wat mij betreft. En op dit album zit er toch een flink aandeel theater in. Sterker nog, het tweede deel is zo ongeveer alleen maar theater, verschrikkelijk. Vervolgens luister ik maar even naar het 3e album, want dat is dus verkozen door classic albums als een album dat je zou moeten luisteren voordat je onder een grasperkje beland. En dat is echt 100x beter. Ik wil niet per se elke keer moeten klagen over de snobkeuzes, maar op deze manier blijft het een terugkerend thema tot het einde van deze reis. Ongelooflijk. Dog Man Star zit ergens tussen de 2 en 3 sterren in, terwijl Coming Up een prima 4 sterren zou krijgen. Maar ja, die hebben de #&#$^# weer eens niet uitgekozen, dus zitten we hier met 2-sterren troep, terwijl we ook gewoon lekker 4 sterren hadden kunnen luisteren. En bedankt!
The ballads are a little... much, but the rest is amazing.
Grand, 2.5
Hear a lot of early Bowie influences here, especially one of the songs sounds like the ending to All the Madmen. Never heard of this band before, so must have been more well known across the pond than here in the US. Decent listen.
1994 was a fucking great year for music
Another of the one word bands of the ‘90s that I get mixed up, between a 3 and 4, rounding up to remind me to come back to it. Reminds me of a cross between The Verve and Muse.
Kreatives Brit Rock Indie Album etwas melancholisch mit ner Stimme wie David Bowie…6/10
Comme hier, je l’ai ecouté d’un oreille, mais c’etait definitivement moins bon que Prince
When it’s going well, it’s dramatic, airy, theatrical. When it’s not going well it’s a bit over-performative
This sounds like they're trying really hard to sound like Bowie, but it's not as good as Bowie and doesn't have the energy. It's not bad, but it's not an interesting or new sound.
Und wieder eine Nullnummer. Schon das Cover schreit: „Finger weg!“ Trotzdem reingehört: Nichts für mich!“
Well it's one of my favourite albums of all time, so... A bit shit that the journo in the book thinks Richard Oakes just turned up and made this, Suede's greatest achievement. I like the guy fine and he's clearly a capable guitarist and coped admirably on the supporting tour, but famously much of this record was Bernard Butler's baby, and had already been recorded before baby Oakes joined. Brett's vocals are way outside of my range, but that isn't going to stop me from wailing away tunelessly along to We are the Pigs, Heroin, The Wild Ones, New Generation and all the rest. I can just about hang on with the last two. I enjoyed all that thoroughly, and The Asphalt World is stratospheric, probably opening the door for my young ears to eventually accept and grow to love prog. Plus this Divine Comedy loving kid obviously loves the gloriously overblown Still Life. Just a wonderful record. Shout out to Stay Together - a non-album single but another of their best songs, which basically heralded that this album was going to be special. Also Sci-Fi Lullabies, the greatest ever compilation of B-sides, which sounds like a shit accolade, but seriously, it is so good and demonstrates what a hot streak the band were on around this time.
There is a lot of bombast to this album, I will definitely give them that. And those big moments were pretty cool. It's just... the vocalist seems a little TOO melodramatic for it. I wanted to like this more, but the vocalist has these moments where I can't tell if he's taking this seriously or not. Top tracks: "We Are The Band," "Heroine," "The Wild Ones"
Reading up on this album, a lot of critics thought it was pretentious. I can understand that to some degree. But really to me, it's just their debut album but more grandiose. Grandiose does not mean pompous - it's a fuller more robust sound, built off the same things critics loved about their debut album but at times with some orchestral or baroque sounds. It's still got that same foggy sound - somewhere between shoe gaze (Catherine Wheel) and new aged Brit glam (Manic Street Preachers) - but it's more ambitious. And in some case brilliant. Introducing the Band is a cool little opener (hint of Oasis). Heroine is decent, maybe a little uneven or trying too hard but has some great moments. The Wild Ones is absolutely beautiful - best song on the album hands down. Daddy's Speeding and The Power are some other good ballads. New Generation is another good rocker. A little bit up and down after that first half - The 2 of Us is another great ballad and The Asphalt World might be better if it didn't have a 9min runtime - but overall a solid album. I think this album is slightly better than their debut, certainly not worse. Changed my opinion of them.
Some okay tracks.
In the UK they'd call this "bloody awful".
Started at meh and went downhill from there
Meh, it's ok.
I’d probably need another few listens to puzzle out how I really felt about Dog Man Star—there’s so much packed into every song. I will say that losing Bernard Butler was a blow they never really recovered from.
You know, for all the complaints I've seen about the list having too much britpop, I haven't really gotten much of it myself so far. What's even better is that most of the britpop albums I have gotten have been pretty good, and Suede's Dog Man Star is no exception. This is a great album. I really like it. I'm a big fan of the sound. It's kind of Bowie-esque in a way. It's a very minor way, but definitely a way. The singing is pretty nice too. The writing is solid. One thing I like about this album that applies to many aspects of the album is that it's a bit darker than most britpop. A lot of British alt-rock from this time and movement tended to be very upbeat and geared towards "the lads." While this did result in some good albums (take Supergrass's I Should Coco for example) it also was kind of dumb in some ways. This album is certainly more upbeat than something like a Radiohead album, but not quite as much as one from a group like Oasis or Blur. There's a good balance here. It's not the deepest album, but it's still got a good amount of substance to it. Good album. High 4/5.
Never really got into Suede. Maybe it's just too much glam rock.
With Dog Man Star Suede seemed to distance themselves from the britpop wave. And while it’s by no means a bad record, it’s not as captivating as the debut - and a lot more grandiose and borderline pretentious.
An excellent slice of Britpop - though surprisingly long and loses direction sometimes as a result.
Suede's moment of brilliance amid apparent chaos in the band.
pretty cool moments but i dont super vibe with the soft songs on this one
Starts strong, runs by long. And gets weaker and slower as it goes. Got so dramatic through the middle that I thought I was listening to a musical at a small theater in the round. (This did make the album more enjoyable.) Swayed - God Nam Rats comes in at (3.3*s) Liked the feel of Suede enough to check out more of their wares.
A slow burner. Not half bad but most of the album is too drawn out and boring. I hear the Bowie and Smiths influence for sure. Had to read up on the album title meaning and it's fitting for a singer who saw this as a growth project. May check out another song or 2 by the band but won't be purposely playing this album again...1.65.
Kind of a mixed bag for me. I'm not familiar with Suede so didn't know what to expect. The first half of the album was alright and brought a little indie britpop influence that I didn't mind. The second half of the album was a little glum and didn't do much to keep me around. It's an OK album but not sure what puts it on this list. Perhaps it was more influential on release or Suede has a bigger arc that I'm not familiar with. Middle of the pack, plenty of better but plenty of worse offerings on the 1001. 2.56 stars
1.5.
At first I got my hopes up. Then it turned into the usual British pop rock slog.
I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Super dramatic and far more melancholic than I've heard from anything else in the genre. Also these lyrics are fantastic. 5/5
This is by far my favourite Suede album it's darker than everything that follows and better that the debut (only just). Highlights include We Are The Pigs, Introducing The Band, Still Life, Heroine and New Generation, but special mentions have got to go to the beautiful The Wild Ones and the sprawling epic that is The Asphalt World with the way it just builds and builds its stunning. Also if you listen to deluxe version you get the full version of Stay Together as a bonus track arguably in of the band's best songs.
I listened to the entire 69 minutes of this. Surely an effort worthy of a Victoria Cross? Introduce ‘Death By Suede’ into the judicial system and watch crime rates fall to zero 1.4
To be honest I was expecting this to be crap, and was honestly surprised when it wasn't. That said it wasn't the find of the century either. It was OK some really good bits like Daddy's Speeding and some not so good bits that weren't worth taking note of. But on the whole it was alright. Worth a 3
I’ve never been much of a Suede fan but this wasn’t too bad despite Brett’s crooning. ‘The Wild Ones’ is the standout track for me, with some lovely noodling on the guitar.
I love Suede, a great live band. One of the artists lumped into the original wave of Britpop, but they never were as unsophisticated as Oasis, so this was overlooked at the time as it didnt fit the mould for your average Britpop fan. This is probably why it is one of my favourite albums of 1994 because if you are going to do hedonism, then do it with a bit of style. Although, I do prefer their debut, this is a massive follow-up. Full of glam, drugs, and sleaze provided by Brett Anderson's vocals and lyrics. Bernard Butler's guitar playing is just astounding, especially when you consider how the album was recorded and the state of relationships with the rest of the band. But it all works and brings a cinematic feel to the whole record.
I'm sorry, but England or not, it's 1994!! This isn't bad at its core, it's enjoyable at tines, competency is displayed. But it sounds like a good 80s record, not even a 90s version os 80s music. For that it's a 4/10 rating amd rounded down
I wanted to hate it but ended up respecting the effort and ambition. It definitely was something different. Some decent guitar work. That said, it felt a little like I was listening to Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera.
I thought this was generally fine but I can't say that it's very unique or new with this sound. Kind of just average early 90s British alternative. 6/10.
I hate Britpop with every bone in my body and most of it is annoying and very underwhelming like Oasis, Supergrass or Blur which I all dislike to the point that I'd rather listen to Harsh Noise (shoutout to Merzbow) for the same duration. But this album's actually quite alright. It is darker and more introspective than most Britpop and what I like most about it, it isn't as arrogant as some Damon Albarn twat. Another thing that I think is brilliant is the mix between the slightly psychedelic Britpop approach with obvious 70's Glam Rock nuances that really speaks to my David Bowie loving heart, even if I do prefer his experimental period from '76 - '79. 'Introducing the Band' not only introduces the band but also the album with some really Neo-Psychedelia sounding Rock that starts with some noisy and washed instruments that even take some sitar and Raga into the sound. The vocals enter with a layered and echoey sound that are sometimes pretty hard to understand but that just enhances the psychedelic sound that they obviously try to create. The song is beautiful and interesting even if it is pretty short. The vocal performance also reminds at points of 80's goth rock which I also very welcome. The following 'We Are the Pigs' is not only one of the albums biggest songs but also one of its best. It is full of noisy instruments that still leave enough room for vocals and guitar to shine in full clearness. The slightly symphonic approach to the chorus and vocals in general really shows the Glam they were going for. It's an incredible and emotional song with a really beautiful delivery all throughout. The melancholic sound is kept with the intense 'Heroine' that really puts most of the emotional intensity into the chorus that really makes you feel the pain even when the delivery seems rather dreamy. It feels so weird with how the song is made up but weird in a good way. The whole song through I am not sure what exactly I am supposed to feel and that results in a mix of so many emotions that are both clear and washed. I absolutely love the song and especially the clear lead guitar that plays so beautifully. The trilogy of possibly the best songs on the album ends with 'The Wild Ones'. Its vocals are much more present but still with the strong psychedelic sound and an incredible vocal performance and possibly the strongest showcase of the Bowie influence because you cannot tell me the chorus isn't straight up a Bowie song. It is a great song and although I don't love it as much as the previous two, it's still one of my favourites on the entire album especially with the climactic chorus and strings. 'Daddy's Speeding' does have some nice moments with the spacey guitar, the ethereal sounds and vocals but overall I am not really interested in the song. It feels much more "boring" than what already featured on the album. There are some moments that build beautiful tension, the release of that is pretty lackluster and the overall enjoyment is very lowerd by the fact that it's one of the albums longer songs. With 'The Power' they return to the theatrical sound from before and the song is pretty good. It has some nice strings added, the vocals are great, the lyrics and the other instruments are really good. There isn't much bad things that I can say about it but somehow the song isn't as interesting as I would've hoped. It's good but doesn't get much higher than that. 'New Generation' is a song that mainly works because of the chorus and luckily the chorus is both long and really great. It's full of great vocals and lyrics as well as some nice brass instruments that were thrown in pretty fittingly. The lead guitar that switches channels at some points is really adding to the overall sound as well with some really nice playing. A really great song but I do think that they could've done slight changes. Still, a pretty much perfect one. The albums second half starts with 'This Hollywood Life' and some saxophones that fade into a really noisy and bluesy guitar riff that is the main driving force of the song. I just think the song is a little to average in both delivery and structure. I am not really interested in it much but I do appreaciate some ideas and moments. The Piano Rock beauty that is 'The 2 of Us' is the albums most underrated track. The best ones are those that everyone loves and knows but this is a song that isn't talked about much although I think that it's beautifully written and has a really great performed chorus as well as the piano that is just perfect for this song. The slow build-up towards the end adds some really needed diversity and when the flute enters, it gets even better. I don't think it's any type of masterpiece but should be talked about more in conversation around this album. 'Black or Blue' is similar to 'The 2 of Us' except that the verses surrounding the chorus aren't as interesting and the song just doesn't flow as great. The chorus is great, no question, but the song as a whole lacks a lot that I need to love it at its fullest. The nearly 10 minute long 'The Asphalt World' isn't just one of the best songs on the album. It has a lot of influence from Prog Rock and it doesn't feel as long as it actually is. It is beautifully dark and full of incredible moments in both the verses and the chorus that builds more and more tension until it releases for short and goes again into more and more tension before abruptly fading into a quieter bridge. The guitar that drives the whole thing just works so perfectly with how it builds up. A gorgeous track that really is the climax of the album. The album closes on the more laid back and slow 'Still Life'. It really feels like the end credits to a movie you just watched. It has something final and finished about it that just feels like the optimal closing track which it is. It closes the album in the way it should but the song itself isn't one of my particular favourites. It's not as interesting throughout or simply as emotional as other songs have been. It's just a great and symphonic closer. Although it isn't part of the actual album and just became a single-only release, 'Stay Together' is too great not to at least mention. Be sure to listen to that one as well. It's incredible. favourites: We Are the Pigs, Heroine, The Asphalt World, New Generation least favourites: Daddy's Speeding, This Hollywood Life, Black or Blue Rating: strong 8
This is going to stay as my playlist for when I want to pretend I'm in the Bronze. It's sweltering today but at least my listening was cool B) I do not want to step foot outside again today, but this album took me on enough of a journey. Amazing opening, and what a soundworld just dripping with that 90s feeling. I've never heard of them before and I'm shocked after such an immersive album. Can't wait to listen again
Bit long, but a big great. At the same time, would you want to cut anything from this album? There are a couple of songs that are over 5 mins, but they are probably two of the best songs on the album The singles are great. The use of the orchestra towards the end of the album is superb. Probably, if i'm honest, the strongest album i have reviewed from the brit pop era. I gave there other album a 4, and i enjoyed it, but at this point, I don't really remember that album at this point. This is close to a 5, but might be a 4.99999999(recurring)
Cool
3.81 rym non orrendo ma no
I let this run - twice through and nothing really caught my attention. Nothing awful, nothing exciting either.
I usually quite like Suede but this album ain't it.
I was very underwhelmed.
Just not my sound
Liked this more than expected and some songs stand out, but it seems to devolve to noise more than it needs to.
This sucked
Can’t stand the voice. Too grandiloquent
love the grandiose instrumentals
Not sure I ever heard them. Enjoyed it
The 2nd half of this album was really tough, every song felt like it was 15 minutes long and filled with mundane music and whiney vocals. First few songs were pretty good though. 2.5.
A bore.
The first half was better then their other album. The last 4 or 5 songs were rough.
I much preferred the other Suede album, the S/T one. This one was weird and the second half sucked.
Nicht meine 5
8/1/24. Very ambitious Britpop era album, really enjoyed all the songs here! I'd rank this band closely to Blur and Oasis.
Vackert, episkt, melodiskt STARK 3
parts of this reminded me of david bowie, other parts kind of reminded me of u2. mainly glam rock with other influences sprinkled in. over all, a pretty listenable album. no complaints here. highlights: “we are the pigs” “new generation” “the asphalt world”
Started out alright but was too long and started just droning on and on and on……
Залупа
Bowie glam rock, but add a sprinkle of 90's guitar sound and make it drag on too long.
p743. 1994. 4 stars. Quality 90s Brit-pop spliced with Bowie Glam rock. Point deducted for excessive track wankage, and it does outstay its welcome.
Jaha paska wibe.... Junasta myöhästymissessio heh..
- Are the Brits responsible for the most inconsequential, non-discript pop / rock music? Serious question .... -
I only heard of Suede after I started this project, and this is my first album of theirs to review. I know they’re Brit Pop, but that’s all I know about their sound. Generally speaking, I’ve really enjoyed the Brit Pop albums on this list so far, so I have pretty high hopes that I’m going to enjoy this album. My intuition was correct, and I really liked this album. The overall sound was incredibly dense and deep throughout the album, even on the slower songs. The cavernous sound reminded me a lot of Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain. The arrangements on this album were great. I loved the guitar melodies, the horn playing, the string arrangements, and the piano melodies throughout the album. I really enjoyed how “Still Life” felt like a crescendo for the end of the album, and the orchestra playing was a perfect way to end this deep album. Lyrically, I enjoyed this album as well, especially “Heroine,” “This Hollywood Life,” and “Black or Blue.” I felt like the themes of drugs, strained relationships, and isolation all tied together brilliantly with the moody sound. Listening to this for the first time was great. I liked not knowing where the songs were going to go musically, like on “Daddy’s Speeding.” The song felt like it was building to a crescendo, but it never came, but I loved the way the song built up the anticipation any way. I really enjoyed this album. The musicianship was great, and I loved the unique, dense sound. The songwriting was great as well, which made this a well-rounded and great album to listen to.
Basically every article about this album calls it "pretentious", and at first I didn't know what that meant. I get it though, it's unrelentingly heavy and serious. Just really intense throughout. When describing why he picked the image for the cover, the singer said "I just liked the image, really, of the bloke on the bed in the room. It's quite sort of sad and sexual, I think, like the songs on the album." Touché. I don't know quite what to make of Suede exactly. They typically get credited with inventing Britpop with their self-titled first record, but then when everyone else was catching on they decided to go make this moody album. From the singer himself, "We could not have been more uninterested in that whole boozy, cartoon-like, fake working-class thing. As soon as we became aware of it, we went away and wrote Dog Man Star. You could not find a less Britpop record. It's tortured, epic, extremely sexual and personal. None of those things apply to Britpop." So what to make of it? I kind of respect that they went a different way on this one. It's certainly not for the faint-of-heart, but it's ambitious and I have to respect that. It's not my favorite thing ever, but it's surprisingly catchy for how serious it is. I feel like it's pretty hard to fully grasp this one on one listen, I need to let it sit for a bit to really grasp it. I think I kind of like it though, probably a 3.5 rounding up. There's also a whole side story where the guitarist and secondary songwriter ragequit like halfway through recording, but I won't get into that here. Update: Listened to it again the next day, and yeah I like it. Not every song works and it's a bit dense, but I like what they were going for here and think it largely is strong. Favorite song: The Wild Ones Other: We Are The Pigs, Heroine, New Generation, The 2 Of Us, Black Or Blue, The Asphalt World, Still Life 7/14/24
I didn’t hate it, but I won’t be coming back to it
Ok
Idc
Boring
This is basically the better version of pretentious glam indie that tortured the 90s and 2000s. Not too bad.
++: Introducing the Band, Daddy's Speeding +: We Are the Pigs, Heroine, The Wild Ones, The Power, This Hollywood Life, The Asphalt World, Still Life +-: New Generation The 2 of Us, Black or Blue 7,0/10
This definitely deserves another listen. Some really good melodies on this.
If you're into ass rock, this album's for you. Just look at the album cover.
Might just a be a mismatch in my own mood to the record, but this really wasn't it for me. Sounded like an unsuccessful attempt to tap into a Bowie aesthetic. I was pretty worn of the experience by track 3 and this drags on for 70 minutes... 2 / 5
This album is pretty much just an album that kept swinging between a 2.75 and a 3.25 stars. The Asphalt World was incredible. If the whole album was like that we'd be looking at a 5 star for sure. Great ending to the album that makes me want to re-listen, but after a first pass it has to settle for a 3.
I could not figure out this album at all. It was like Hair/Glam metal mixed with folk/alternative at some points and then some slow ballad likes songs thrown in. New Generation was the best song on this and Asphalt World was p cool too. I liked the heavy guitar songs a good amount. Didn't care too much for the slow songs. This had 4 or 2 the entire time so ill just middle it to a 3.
Definitely sounds like faux Bowie. There are some not great songs on here. Kinda sounds opera-y. Some moments I think are alright but not great. Will not be back.