release date: Sep. 30, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,33]
producer: Stephen Street, John Leckie, Dave Eringa
label: Columbia Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Positivity" (4 / 5) - 2. "Obsessions" - 3. "Lonely Girls" - 8a. "[untitled]"
5th studio album by Suede. Now with this they managed to do worse than on their previous album Head Music (1999). The album does contain great tracks but, very much like on the predecessor, most of the tracks are fillers just securing a full album release by a band that just keeps repeating themselves. The best track "Positivity" is the only truly fine track, despite the fact that it sounds like a copy or remake of a single hit on some other Suede album. It's also the only real synthpop track, which seems a bit strange - the rest of the tracks are like an attempt to make more traditional britpop like Blur or Pulp with simple guitar-based compositions, and it really makes it a strange release. After all, it could be a great A-side single with two fine B-sides (tracks #2 and #3), instead it has all these poor and mediocre "bonus" tracks...
One year after the release, Suede disbanded and Anderson and Butler found together in The Tears - or at least for a while.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 3 / 5, Drowned in Sound 2,5 / 5 stars ]
