Suede – Demos Review

What better time to delve into the early years of Suede than a year on from their best post-reunion release? Autofiction is a masterful piece of work from the 1990s troupe, with Brett Anderson digging deep on a record which hopefully signals a new era for Suede. Step back into the earliest of times for the Mat Osman and Bernard Butler-featuring band and get a feel for their change in style. A Record Store Day exclusive, and a hell of a lucky purchase at that. Like magpies to tinfoil, most were headed for The 1975 or Taylor Swift, but some held firm and went out of their way, dragging themselves through queues in the cold, for copies of Demos or A Secret Life by Marianne Faithful. Months on and finally able to get it listened to, this offering does not disappoint.  

Opening demo The Drowners is not far off the finished product bar a slower vocal performance from Anderson. It is the case for many of these demos, a wonderful collection of tracks which are near to completion, or at least sound as though they are. The likes of Metal Mickey and Pantomime Horse are of such a near-release quality these demo editions are as enjoyable as the finished project. That is not to say there are no differences. Subtle they may be, there are certainly moments of intrigue and interest. The sharper polish on the work from Butler is striking, the momentum he brought to the table feels powerful yet diminished somewhat on the likes of Moving, though there are still relevant and enjoyable pieces from Demos to the self-titled debut.  

Get it flipped over though, this is where the real interest is. For all the Brett and Butler back and forth, there is a real overlap of quality on To The Birds – which would not see the light of day for some time. Still scratchy and a little off the mark, definitely one for the bonus sides and deep-cut fanatics, but a tremendous wave of quality from Suede nonetheless. Slick playing and a relaxed feel which would serve them well for their first trilogy of records. Beyond that, all was lost and to play for, a feeling and spirit the band would not rekindle for some time. Suede could easily play out these deep cuts, in this form, on current tours, they are in a confident moment and long may it continue. With instrumentals like Diesel making up the latter half of the record, it feels as though this is just shy of EP quality, with bits and pieces thrown down on tape and offered up to nosy listeners decades on.  

RSD exclusives should be for deep cuts and bits of extra material, and though Demos is the definition of that, it is too good a collection to keep off of streaming services as it is currently. Devastating. There is a YouTube video handy, thankfully, but what a sin to keep these out of reach. All are available in their released forms of course but when the Bob Dylan fans are hoovering up every show the man has ever performed, those with less to grab at may feel shortchanged if they do not hear the raw emergence of a track like Sleeping Pills. Demos closer Sars on 45 is a drop in quality but by that point, a thoroughly great A-Side has been rounded out by the dregs of the B-Side. Not everything can be perfect, not least demo tapes which hold interest in how Suede formed their earliest and best songs.