The crunch and heave of "Disintegrte", the lead single from the new Suede album, Antidepressants showed that these stalwarts had a lot of energy still coursing through their veins. It also was the first hint a few months ago that this Suede record was going to be a good one. Heavy in spots, but varied in approach, Antidepressants is the most rounded Suede release in a decade.
When Richard Oakes lets loose a playful and spry guitar figure to anchor the catchy-as-hell "Dancing with the Europeans", it almost feels like 1996 again. Production on Antidepressants by Ed Buller gives this a familiar feel, such that numbers like the title cut have the rush of any number of A- or B-sides from the late Nineties. Brett Anderson, of course, is unstoppable, and his insouciant delivery on this title cut, and his heart-on-the-sleeve-wails in "Broken Music for Broken People" places at least portions of this right there next to Coming Up-era classics. Even "Somewhere Between an Atom and a Star" has some of the sweep of "High Rising". I'm not saying that they've recreated their best material, but that, here in 2025, they've gotten remarkably close at times on this record.
So many years have passed since Coming Up, Suede's post-Bernard Butler peak, and a listener can't but help to feel nostalgic for the rush of that record. And while Antidepressants isn't that album, it's got enough of a similar flash and spark to almost fool a fan in 2025. This is a cohesive offering, and one where it feels like the band's at least attempting to scale the same heights as before. There are no points awarded for trying, of course, but they certainly make a respectable showing here. When the world seems like it's falling apart (again), there's still something comforting about the wail of Brett Anderson with the machinery of the Suede attack behind him. Antidepressants is something to be grateful for, especially for those of us looking for reminders of the flame of our youth.
Antidepressants by Suede is out now. Details here.
[Photo: Dean Chalkley]