Younger audiences will keep any band going. For Suede, the hundred or so faces frontman Brett Anderson noted in a recent interview, is who the band are aiming to please. They are not a nostalgia act, far from it. A handful of their most recent releases, Bloodsports and Autofiction, particularly, are among their very best. With the new album Antidepressants on the way, Suede seems ready to take yet another step in modernising their appeal. Outsiders: Live, Rare, Unreleased is a fantastic opportunity, then, for listeners to get an understanding of the band’s momentum. Early years pieces and live performances of all-time greats are paired with some of Suede’s latest material, outings which highlight that the music and message have changed, but the quality has not. This MOJO Magazine exclusive is an inevitably incredible showcase of the band’s highest points, old and new.
This compilation wastes no time at all. You can forgive Suede for opening with a hit, a gem of a live version of The Drowners. Crucial to this compilation, though, is understanding the most recent pieces from Suede fit right in there with the very best of their discography. This is another exceptional compilation from MOJO Magazine, and it is not just because of the live versions featured here. Outsiders has some tremendous strengths to be found in the demo versions of Just a Girl, Shadow Self, and Disintegrate. The third track there offers a neat alternative to their Antidepressants lead single, a fantastic look into how the songs have evolved as Suede pieced together their tenth studio album. Brass Pocket is unlike those popular songs, those new tracks that are rooted in punk sincerity. Stripped back barely covers it. The song sounds so delicate that it could collapse. But the strengths of Suede as a continuing concept are at play. Those microscopic details, the very fibre of love and society, were pieced together well.
Just a Girl also, a song rightly lost in the move towards glam rock and defining a generation, but still worth a listen. It has a charm to it, that much is crucial to the acoustic-driven track, profiling Anderson as a solid lyricist with much to prove. Outsiders offers a deep dive into Suede during their formative years. For those who read Coal Black Mornings, these moments will be of real interest. But so too are the modern selections. Personality Disorder is a delightful addition, and Outsiders is a nice selection from their The Blue Hour release. Suede digs deep into their archives and offers a selection of songs available elsewhere, but the story they tell over these fifteen songs is a neat way to break from the hook of nostalgia.
Suede has no interest in playing up to older fans’ memories. None of their hits from that first run appear here. This is a chance to focus on the lesser-known efforts which formed those days, and the tracks which are now being released as a result of that longevity. A live version of Europe is Our Playground feels rather fitting, not a counter to Dancing with the Europeans, but an equally strong love letter to audiences across the continent. A song from Antidepressants closes the album out, Criminal Ways. When Suede released Autofiction, the burning question was “Where can the band take this?” Further, is the answer, then. They have managed to find songs from their past which fit the tone of the current day, and Outsiders does an outstanding job of highlighting this.
