Detractors of Coming Up may feel Brett Anderson and, to a greater effect, Suede, had lost the edge which gave them Dog Man Star. To that, there must be ridicule alone. Coming Up still has the seediness and raw power of their self-titled debut and Bernard Butler-featuring follow-up but they come into their own in a higher pitch and grander, eclectic style with their third release. An album which takes no prisoners on its booming glam rock start. Few artists can say their record starts with as strong and iconic a song as Trash, and yet Suede continue to hit high after high on this album of major fame excess, of a sound too volatile to contain any longer. Some would argue, rather rightly, that the departure of Butler reframed the band and their sound. There was no ballast for Anderson, and he, and Suede, were all the better for it when it came to Coming Up.
And yet Coming Up serves as their best work. A truly stunning piece of work which expands the cultural anxieties of the time with fresh and venomous hang-ups. They are still perceived as the people they were on We Are the Pigs or So Young, chasing thrills and trying not to wind up embittered or old, yet the sense of shock and maturity is stunning. Coming Up perseveres with gritty views of the world, of sexuality and the marriage between them. The oft-confused back-and-forth of culture and its relationship with us, with listeners and those experiencing similar emotions to the band, is explored far greater here than any other Suede album. It does not feel deeply personal – Autofiction would set the record straight – but Coming Up serves as an outward critique like the preceding albums. It is the sharper instrumental flourishes which guide it. Richard Oakes’ involvement is the key, as is the addition of Neil Codling.
Part of the joy heard in Coming Up is the roaring new moments of instrumental excess. Bits like Lazy benefit from this new sound, and yet the band is still happy to head in sombre directions. Not as depressed or deflated as the brilliance of Dog Man Star, but a reassessment of the mood. Still bedraggled but with a slim line of hope coursing through the band, with the moody likes of By the Sea highlighting this best of all. This continues through to album heavyweights like The Chemistry Between Us and Picnic by the Motorway – where substance or situation are used as clear but charming metaphors for lush instrumental repetition. It all forms a bed for some of the best lyrical moments Anderson has ever provided, from the sharp and punchy wit of Trash to the tenderness, the almost incessant obsession and desire to make an evening a memorable one with Saturday Night.
Gorgeous work from Suede was likely not anticipated. Their brutal style and the iconography of their first two albums, while including an inherent sexual edge, were more about the discovery of the self in a line of protest and rebellion. Once the gunfire has stopped, where does the heart go next? For all the seedy mattress cover photos and the sickly-coloured backdrop, Suede gets into a rather beautiful mix on Coming Up. A series of bold interpretations of life in that period, and yet it still swings with a flow of contemporary guilts and revelations, all made to the backdrop of a transitional period for the band. Remarkable work, truly, and much of it benefits from the swing of new instrumentals and the explosive, scattered glam rock appeal. Even the deep cuts from these sessions are worthwhile – and the care taken to release them is wonderful.
