The Nineties will forever be revered as a period that introduced us to an unprecedented wealth of British talent. It was a great time to be alive and an even better time if you happened to be old enough to enjoy it. Thatcher was out and Oasis were in. Guitar music had made an almighty comeback and paved the way to what became known as Britpop.
With so much talent oozing from all directions of the country, it was almost too hard to keep up. Many forget who was there at the very beginning of this party before the rest showed up knocking at the door wanting a big fat slice of the action. It was Suede. The band, fronted by the androgynous force that is Brett Anderson, arrived in 1992 with a jaw droppingly good single that had the music press salivating with adoration – ‘The Drowners‘. The rest is history.
Brett Anderson might not have his youth anymore, but what he does still have is his voice. That distinctive vocal was the most important instrument in Suede, channeling the spirit of early David Bowie with a delicacy that made the likes of ‘The Wild Ones‘ a heart-wrenching, bonafide classic.
Time has been kind to his vocal chords and he’s sounding just as good as he did back then, if a little more mature. Suede’s future is looking promising after a series of reuinion shows and whispers of a new album in the pipeline, but there is other business to attend to first – his soon to be released fourth solo album.
“Fourth!?” you say? Yes – the man has been busy. Resting on ones laurels is not in his DNA. It would be too easy to just sleep through the alarm clock every morning and await the endless stream of royalty cheques to hit the doormat. Brett knows he has a gift and its one that keeps on giving – much to the joy of his fans. That’s why he’s been busy in the studio doing what he does best – singing his heart out and coming up with ‘Brittle Heart‘, his brilliant new solo effort.
‘Brittle Heart’ is the first single to be lifted from new album ‘Black Rainbows‘ and it’s certainly good enough to warrant a delay on putting the wheels in motion with his old band. “Give me your brittle heart and your ashtray eyes” croons Brett to the backing of a sweet melody and driving drumbeat. Its defiant chorus in which he calls to “take them all on and force down their doors now” has him stretching his voice to its full potential and encompasses that raw passion that he wrapped around much of Suede’s finest material.
Yet it is the verses that boast a hook which will set up permanent residence in your brain and refuse to move on. The track is layered with some spine tinglingly good backing vocals that compliment its sombre tone. It’s quite possibly the finest moment of his solo career and a return to a sound that could be described as much more mainstream than most of his solo work has been.
Does the world want another solo album from Brett Anderson? It’s doubtful he cares. Lyrically, he clearly still has thing’s he wants to get off his chest and the stella quality of these lyrics begs the question – why not put pen to paper? It might tread over the some of the same territory that his work is already strongly associated with – themes of love and desire which are articulated in only a way he can but if its not broke then there’s no need to fix it, this is what he does. Sombre and melancholic the words may be but Brett delivers them with an air of confidence and positivity.
He has described his new album has a “return to the rock band format”. On the basis of this single, its a decision that is going to pay off.
(Matt Humphrey)
Great review.
typo:
“Stella quality”