Suede 6

And like that, the first new results of the Suede reunion are upon us. After pretty incessant teasing through their Twitter feed, this morning they announced new LP 'Bloodsports' - a horribly non-Suede Suede album title if you ask me - and free download of new single "Barriers". (NME reports an "official" single "It Starts And Ends With You" - such a cliche late-period Suede song title it's amazing it hasn't been used yet - is due in February.) 

They've been mouthing off about going back to a sound that's part 'Dog Man Star'/part 'Coming Up' and not releasing anything unless they get it right, which can only set you up for some sort of disappointment. (Really, both of those albums were lightning in a bottle for completely different reasons, it's absurd to think you could re-create either of them individually, let alone mash them together but I'll give it to Brett. He was excited.) On the bright side, the latter proves to be true enough - this is no grand slam Suede return, more a gentle toe dip to test the waters and see what people say, but a legacy tarnisher it is not.

I'm willing to accept not a total disaster - for now - but they're gonna have to do more than a fleshed-out re-write of "Oxygen" for the experiment to be a full-on success. I think they can do it, as long as they stay out of their own way and let the music do the talking. (And even more importantly, not completely distance themselves from work they're obviously proud of if public opinion doesn't mesh. coughcough"Attitude"coughcough)