Released: September 16
Suede return to form with their glorious new album ‘Autofiction’ – the group’s strongest release in years!
The album sees the five-piece – Brett Anderson, Mat Osman, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes and Neil Codling – relive their early years, taking up residence in a rehearsal studio in a deserted Kings Cross where they set up and start playing.
“Autofiction is our punk record,” says Brett. “No whistles and bells. Just the five of us in a room with all the glitches and fuck-ups revealed; the band themselves exposed in all their primal mess.”
Recorded live at Konk studios in North London with long-time Suede collaborator, Ed Buller, it’s no wonder the LP is reminiscent of their earliest works – he produced their debut single The Drowners, which celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year.
But ‘Autofiction’ is far from an exercise in nostalgia, with the record exploring the band as they are now, as demonstrated with the deeply personal lead track She Still Leads Me On, which reads as a tribute to Brett’s late mother.
It’s a confessional approach that he nurtured while penning the autobiographical works ‘Coal Black Mornings’ and ‘Afternoons With The Blinds Drawn’, which fed into his career onstage and encouraged the performer to reevaluate his stance and approach towards life in the public eye.
“Autofiction has a natural freshness, it’s where we want to be,” he adds of the set, with bass player Mat Osman explaining: “When we were rehearsing and writing this record it was this sheer, physical rush. That thing where you’re hanging on for dear life.”
While their previous album, 2018’s ‘The Blue Hour’, was composed over a mammoth 18 months and produced with new collaborator Alan Moulder, this time around the group dive into their instincts for a set that draws on punk and new wave influences while maintaining a pop edge integral to their long standing appeal.
Cut to the heart of tracks such as 15 Again and the bombastic arrangements mask a deeply vulnerable core, which all plays into its brilliance. Meanwhile, the ballad Drive Myself Home offers Brett a chance to shine with a raw, stripped-back vocal.
Closer Turn Off Your Brain And Yell urges listeners to, ‘Reveal yourself / Show off all your wounds / Come on feel the sunshine’ – a lesson we could all use once in a while.
Three decades on from their debut, Suede’s sound remains strikingly fresh on ‘Autoficition’, which may just be their best release this century.
‘Autofiction’ is available now.
