Suede

Bloodsports - Warner Brothers 2012

Tracks: 1. Barriers / 2. Snowblind / 3. It Starts and Ends With You / 4. Sabotage / 5. For the Strangers / 6. Hit Me / 7. Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away / 8. What Are You Not Telling Me? / 9. Always / 10. Faultlines

Comments:

After the slightly disappointing album "A New Morning" and a ten-year hiatus, Suede are back in fine form with the album "Bloodsports". The group sound is intact and there are not immediately noticeable differences in their sound anno 2013 compared to "Coming Up" - the group's biggest commercial success; maybe no big surprise considering that the line-up is the same. The album starts off with three typical Suede rockers, with singable melodies. Especially the opening track "Barriers" has something special and magnificent - this clearly must be a new fan favorite. "Snowblind" and "It Starts and Ends with you" come close to those of "Barriers" and both are fine numbers. Less typical is "Sabotage", which is a song that wins on closer acquaintance. Among the actual ballads we find "For the Strangers" and "Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away" - both songs in familiar Suede arrangements - and both great songs. "What are you not Telling Me" and "Faultlines" are more special and less accessible - perhaps slightly pompous. "Always" is very cute, but not particularly memorable. "Hit Me", which is selected as a single, is a pretty simple rocker, which almost sounds like an outtake from "Coming Up". My choice for a single would have been "Barriers". It seems the most catchy songs are placed first on the album, and that the new ideas are mostly assigned to the last part of the album. At any rate very nice to have Suede back.

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