bong
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2003
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yeah yeah yeah... i know i may be Head-Fi's biggest Suede fan, but even i was reluctant to pick up Brett Anderson's solo debut. it doesn't help that none of his and related releases hasn't been released in the US since Head Music in 1999, and it costs me a small fortune to keep his discography complete in my collection.
but i digress... Brett Anderson's solo record has been getting very mixed reviews, from glowing praises by some critics to others wishing him a quick and painless death. listening to it, i guess i wasn't expecting anything extraordinary but it's surprising quite good. it's nothing like Suede or The Tears, but a very laid back, introspective, cozy, and pseudo-orchestrated album. something seems missing as one would expect flourishes of guitar like Suede or The Tears, but the songs are very stripped down with Brett playing most of the acoustic and electric stuff himself.
what really comes out is his voice. while age and excess may have taken a toll on his voice (especially around A New Morning), his singing here is pure and honest with nary a trace of his trademark melodrama (or maybe he can't hit those falsetto notes anymore).
anyway, it's a very solid record, with no fillers save maybe "Ebony." choice tracks are "Love is Dead," "Dust and Rain," "To the Winter," and "Song For My Father." some of the lyrics are good, some bad; there's loads of Brett-isms abound but i suppose that's Brett's charm... there's nothing as cringeworthy as "Savoir Faire" though. one comment i can make is that most of the songs travel on the same tempo, hence some critics calling it a boring record but most of them were comparing it to Suede or even The Tears, but judging on it's own i quite like Brett Anderson's solo debut.
oh, and in traditional Suede fashion, the B-Sides off both "Love is Dead" CD singles are amazing; especially "Clowns" and "We Can Be Anyone."
it's been reported that Brett recorded this album simultaneously as The Tears, and to be fair i hope Anderson/Butler will produce another Tears record, but for now i'll take what i can get.
but i digress... Brett Anderson's solo record has been getting very mixed reviews, from glowing praises by some critics to others wishing him a quick and painless death. listening to it, i guess i wasn't expecting anything extraordinary but it's surprising quite good. it's nothing like Suede or The Tears, but a very laid back, introspective, cozy, and pseudo-orchestrated album. something seems missing as one would expect flourishes of guitar like Suede or The Tears, but the songs are very stripped down with Brett playing most of the acoustic and electric stuff himself.
what really comes out is his voice. while age and excess may have taken a toll on his voice (especially around A New Morning), his singing here is pure and honest with nary a trace of his trademark melodrama (or maybe he can't hit those falsetto notes anymore).
anyway, it's a very solid record, with no fillers save maybe "Ebony." choice tracks are "Love is Dead," "Dust and Rain," "To the Winter," and "Song For My Father." some of the lyrics are good, some bad; there's loads of Brett-isms abound but i suppose that's Brett's charm... there's nothing as cringeworthy as "Savoir Faire" though. one comment i can make is that most of the songs travel on the same tempo, hence some critics calling it a boring record but most of them were comparing it to Suede or even The Tears, but judging on it's own i quite like Brett Anderson's solo debut.
oh, and in traditional Suede fashion, the B-Sides off both "Love is Dead" CD singles are amazing; especially "Clowns" and "We Can Be Anyone."
it's been reported that Brett recorded this album simultaneously as The Tears, and to be fair i hope Anderson/Butler will produce another Tears record, but for now i'll take what i can get.
