Meltdown 2002 - Suede

Bleached blonde and noticeably battle weary from the highs and lows or a decade of art-house indie stardom, it's the muted comeback of 'Simon' which unveils an evening of all the love and poison we would expect.

The much vaunted 'acoustic-folk' air of 2002 Suede becomes evident early on. 'Positivity' is the first new album track aired tonight, an obscenely upbeat song, is very much in the vein of recent Pulp material, mimicking b-side favourite 'Let Go' in its candy-wrapper guitar hook. 'Let go' it would seem, is just what the expectant Suedeheads need to, because the days of dresses, needles and insect life are past. Now much more laid back and organic, and all the better for it, you could say 'Positivity' is the little sister of 'The Wild Ones' which grants obvious delight when it follows closely on its tail.

Backing up Alex Lee (ex-Strangelove replacement for Neil Codling), the eight-piece string section excels 'Everything Will Flow' to blissful new heights. The cosmic sing-a-long is still the grade A standout from the their last LP. In chirpy-chappy mood for the entire night, Brett's smile broadens further upon introduction of 'Lost In TV' easily the most instantly hit-worthy new track on show.

The glam-glitz pop-tart swagger of 'Trash' and 'Metal Mickey' give everyone what they came for, before another couplet of tracks from the forthcoming 'A New Morning' LP surface in the form of 'Astrogirl' and the stunning 'Beautiful Loser'. A lot more 'Coming Up' than the rest of the new songs, it's spiky recurring hooks cracks up into a trademarked Brett chorus, dazzling in its beauty and simplicity. Cue total mayhem for 'Beautiful Ones'. Any group who can create this level of pop perfection will always be relevant.

Compounding the immediate belief that Suede cannot better their astounding legacy of material, a rare uncovering of 'My Insatiable One' is the ultimate jewel in the barely blue sky tonight. The Bowie-natched reference line about shitting pills is still as essential lyric, whilst the rasping drug-poetry of 'The Power', famous recorded without Bernard in the troubled perfection period of Dog Man Star.

There's no way Suede can go back there, though just for a second there's the thought that the final track, 'Untitled' could be a new 'Asphalt World'. A slow minor intro bursts into upbeat chorus and is snatched away to the arms of happiness. Suede themselves are in a totally new place now. As the album title claims, it's a new dawn and it's obvious that we've gotta let our visions of Marilyn and the sleazy London loneliness of nineties Suede rest in peace, Bernard would want it that way.

Andrew Future

Suede headline Mardi Gras in London's Finsbury Park on Saturday July 5th as well as Virgin Train's MOVE in Manchester on Wednesday July 10th. A secret fanclub show will be confirmed for July 16th at the Hackney Ocean, followed by a nationwide tour in the autumn.

The Full Set List Was:

*SIMON
*POSITIVITY
*WILD ONES
*EVERYTHING WILL FLOW
*LOST IN TV
*SHE'S IN FASHION
*SHE
TRASH
METAL MICKEY
STARCRAZY
*INDIAN STRINGS
*ASTROGIRL
BEAUTIFUL LOSER
BEAUTIFUL ONES
CAN'T GET ENOUGH
WHEN THE RAIN FALLS
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OBSESSIONS
MY INSATIABLE ONE
*THE POWER
UNTITLED