Britpop icons Suede have released a brand new album Antidepressants, one of their most highly anticipated in years. Allowing for the dust to settle after their 2022 release Autofiction, Suede have moved away from gritty gothic melodramatics and leaned into aspects of post-punk revival.
A modern take on the style of gothic greats, such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Sisters of Mercy, Antidepressants, manages effortlessly to take the best aspects of the eighties goth movement and spin it into a refreshing yet powerful album.
Packed with anthems, Antidepressants kicks off with ‘Disintegrate’, a track that opens with a gradual thudding “disconnected, connected” refrain before the drums and guitar break through the monotony, a statement which perfectly captures what the album is trying to suggest.
As frontman Bret Anderson told NME: “There is a darkness, but there is also a joy to escaping that which I wanted to express as well. Lots of the songs are about escaping that suppression, and the joy there is to be had there”, emphasising the importance of “finding connection in a disconnected world.”
As the album progresses, it is very clear that the band want to move away from their nineties legacy, presenting fans with a sound that is unmistakable Suede yet avoids being a repeat of their early work. While the band have been clear about how proud they are of their time in the spotlight following the release of their 1993 self-titled debut, they have been sure to include that this album is something fresh for fans to love, rather than the same old noise.
The title track ‘Antidepressants’ has been a long-standing inclusion on the setlist at Suede’s live shows. One of the strongest tracks on the album, ‘Antidepressants’ encompasses traditional goth, post-punk, and psychedelic elements to create an emotional rollercoaster of a track. Sung from the perspective of a man navigating the pitfalls of death, existentialism, and modern anxiety through the lens of being heavily medicated. The relevance of this track cannot be understated, in a world where medication is so frequently accepted as a be-all-end-all cure for unhappiness Suede have more than made a statement with this album about the falseness of this suggestive “cure for sadness.”
Other highlights of the album include ‘The Sound And The Summer’, an equally grungey track, although with a slightly different message- one of escapism and freedom, or rather being trapped and disconnected from the world around you. Similar themes and sounds accompany tracks like ‘Broken Music For Broken People’, ‘Criminal Ways’, and ‘Trance State’ as the tracklist moves on, emphasising the classic Suede twang with lilting riffs, haunting vocals, and thudding drums.
The track listing for this LP does almost as much to make a statement as the music itself. Chopping up high-energy crowd pleasers with the occasional out-of-place ballad (for example ‘Somewhere Between An Atom And A Star’ and ‘Sweet Kid’), the band manage effortlessly to demonstrate not only the extremes of the human condition, but also its unpredictability.
Closing the album with ‘Life Is Endless, Life Is A Moment’ makes the rest of the album seem quite foreign in sound and themes. A dark yet romantic ode to the English way of life, and the monotony of the everyday where nothing seems to change. This track almost seems to act as a reminder that despite the frustrated sounds of the earlier tracks, this is how life is, and there is nothing to be done. For a band like Suede, this harsh reality encompasses everything their fans love and adore them for.
With this year seeing the successes of nineties superstars such as Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass, James, and other Britpop peers it is only right that Suede has their time in the spotlight, and the release of such a fantastic, creative, and emotional album has been sure to guarantee them that.
Words by George Connell
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