Maybe it is true that 90s nostalgia is at its absolute zenith right now and is probably worth capitalizing on for the musicians that emerged in that wonderful era. The beginning of the 90s marked a rather dramatic change in commercial music. The mainstream consumer appeared to have a large and rather quickly acquired disdain for the happy, melodic, and synth-filled sounds of the 80s. This made it very difficult for artists that emerged in the 80s to have success in the music industry in the 90s. Three new dominant music genres emerged at the beginning of the 90s. The first was Rap (dominated by acts such as Dr Dre, LL Cool J, and MC Hammer). The second was Grunge (dominated by Nirvana and Pearl Jam). The third was the more accessible “Britpop”. This genre enjoyed more popularity outside the US. The three faces of this movement were Blur, Oasis, and Suede. Our personal favorite was Suede. Fronted by the androgynous Brett Anderson, the band possessed a great knack for songwriting and intricate guitar-driven harmonies. The songwriting partnership between Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler is considered one of the greatest in modern rock music. Suede possessed the incredible capability of sounding like no one else and yet fitting comfortably within the realms of radio-ready pop/rock music. Some of their career-defining hits include tracks such as “Animal Nitrate”, “Beautiful Ones”, “Lazy”, and “She’s in fashion”. They were also one of the few bands that ritually churned out radio-worthy b-sides such as “Sound of the Streets” and “Whipsnade”. Sadly, their 1999 album “Head Music” marked the beginning of their decline despite topping the UK albums charts. The band called it quits in 2003 after the disappointing performance of their fifth album “New Morning”.
The band re-emerged after a long hiatus in 2010 playing a string of shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2011, they played live at the Coachella festival in the US (their first US appearance after a long stateside absence). Their appeared to be no signs of new material until a few days ago when the band announced plans to release a new album titled “Bloodsports” (scheduled for a March release). Some of the new songs (including “Falling Planes”, “The Only” and “Someone Better”) have been showcased at recent live gigs in Russia.
For music connoisseurs that look to the 90s for their life’s soundtrack, Suede is undoubtedly on of those quintessential nostalgia and happiness-inducing bands. Hence, the thought of Suede returning to the limelight with new material is a very exciting one. The band has been gracious enough to offer a free download of a new track titled “Barriers”. You can CLICK HERE to get the track. Suede is hands down our most noteworthy omission in our “List of returning acts to look out for in 2013“!
RADIO ALERT: Suede’s “Barriers” is getting 5 plays a day on our radio station. We might be one of the few American radio stations that plays Suede’s music on a regular basis. IF you are reading this on a mobile device (smartphone, tablet etc.), CLICK HERE to listen to our radio station. If not, listen to our station from ANY part of the world by clicking on the button below.
