Suede: Coming Up
Columbia

File Under: Glam-rock--the next generation

If you're looking for the influences of U.K. pop stars the London Suede, you can sidestep classicists like the Beatles and Squeeze and head straight to the cynical ennui of the Smiths; the twinkle-twinkle Hunky Dory era of Bowie; or the swing of "Downtown" Dusty Springfield. Known legally as the London Suede in the U.S. and just plain, snappy Suede elsewhere, the lads of hi-camp pop have gone through some lineup changes following the success of the albums Suede (1992) and Dog Man Star (1993). Richard Oakes has replaced original guitarist Bernard Butler and, more recently, Neil Codling has joined on keyboards. Spearheaded by singer Brett Anderson's nasally screeched vocals, Coming Up mixes populism with idealism and doses it heavily with a vivacious lust for life. The exhilarating sing-along "Trash" shimmers with anticipation and defiance as Anderson romances, "We're trash, you and me/ We're the lovers on the streets/ We're the litter on the breeze." This born-to-lose theme continues in the infectious guitar jingle-jangle of "The Chemistry Between Us." Replete with faux-dramatic strings and a foppish falsetto from Anderson, the song reveals Suede's main clause: "We are young and not tired of it," before Anderson adds the mocking chorus: " . . . class A, class B . . . class Me." Filled with positive, unabashedly simple guitar solos and draped with decorative instrumental layers, Coming Up is youthful exuberance gone transcendental.

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