Customer Reviews

New Morning

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After several years of waiting, Suede finally gives us their fifth studio album and, I'm happy to say, "A New Morning" was worth the wait. Track 1.) Positivity is pure pop brilliance that gets instantly stuck in your head. Producer Steven Street adds just enough strings to make respectable an otherwise poppy Tony Hoffer (the first producer) production. Track 2.) Obsessions is like a "Coming Up" version of "New Generation" with Alex Lee on harmonica for good measure. You'll be humming the chorus all day. Track 3.) Lonely Girls begins with a Simon & Garfunkel style, strummed acoustic guitar, piano and viola, then later bongos and full strings come in to fill out the sound for an over-all Bowie-esque feel. Track 4.) Lost in TV is a great song made up of acoustic guitars and organs that has a poppy melody reminiscent of a Lightning Seeds songs and chorus vocals that allude to Queen. Track 5.) Beautiful Loser is a disappointing song for me and is in stark contrast to the lovely, mellow Lost in TV that precedes it. It's written in the gritty and raunchy fashion of "She" or the b-side "Bored," but not nearly as catchy or addictive as either of those. The really interesting thing is Brett sings on this song in a style I haven't heard him use before. Toward the end his vocals take on a raspy, throaty quality that I can only compare to Paul McCartney. Weird. Nonetheless, it's probably my least favorite song on the album, followed by my second least favorite song on the album, Track 6.) Street Life. This is more rehashed "Head Music" era Suede. Fast tempo with typical Suede-styled vocal distortion like the chorus on the b-side "Together," only not nearly as technically well done. This one is growing on me though.

Then comes the second half of the album, where things get really interesting. While the first half is very poppy, after the style of "Coming Up," the second half sees Suede exploring new territory and sounding like they never have before-and the result is fabulous. Track 7.) Astrogirl is an interesting song. It makes full use of strings and lounge-style piano. The chorus is full of chords and key changes that bring Pulp to mind, and the song in general sounds like Bowie-always a good thing. Track 8 includes two songs on one track, "Untitled" and "Morning." Track 8a.) Untitled is a lovely little song that is atmospheric and melodic from start to finish. Richard and Alex sing lovely backing vocal harmonies throughout. Track 8b.) Morning is another simple song using acoustic guitar complete with finger-sliding squeaks and a cheesy synthesizer. If Michael Stipe sang this song it could be easily mistaken as an R.E.M. song-that's a fist for Suede. Track 9.) One Hit to the Body starts out nice and mellow then picks up a little momentum in the chorus. I hate to keep comparing these songs to other groups, but if Martin Rossiter sang this one it would be a Gene song. Which perhaps doesn't say much considering that Gene sound a lot like Suede in the first place. Track 10.) When the Rain Falls uses a funky bass and lounge piano for a sound that I instantly liked. The harmonies have a 70s feel to them and Brett speaks some of the lyrics toward the end, which is also a first for Suede. After a short break, Track 11 begins, which, like Track 8, includes two songs on one. Track 11a.) You Belong to Me is a bonus track included only on the limited edition, first pressing of "A New Morning." It's a poppy piece with synthesized strings and Brett falsettos, not nearly as prevalent on this album as normal. Brett kind of sing-speaks the lyrics in a Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners style. After about 10 minutes of silence, Track 11b.) Oceans begins with a crackly recording that sounds like vinyl. This is a hidden track and a gem of a song that would be right at home on "Dog Man Star." The annoying thing is you have to either wait or fast-forward through "You Belong to Me" and the 10-minute silence every time you want to listen to it. It's one of those songs that always seems to end to soon.

Over all "A New Morning," which varies from pop, to mellow summer tunes, to late-night lounge acts, is definitely better than "Head Music" and I think after repeated listens it will surpass "Coming Up" as well. It can't really be compared to either of Suede's first two albums, and quite honestly, until Bernard Butler rejoins the group, Ed Buller produces, and Brett gets addicted to heroin again, Suede will never make another "Dog Man Star." Holding "A New Morning" up to the standards of "Dog Man Star," it would only be a 3-star album. Comparing it to everything else out there on the radio today, it's by far a 5-star album. But, we know what Suede is capable of, and so I give it 4-stars. "A New Morning" will go down in history as an important Suede outing. Brett's voice is sounding better than ever, though I miss all the falsettos. Steven did a fine job producing. The mixing is nice too, though I'd like to hear the bass lines a bit louder. Basically, "A New Morning" is Suede stripped down, writing melodies that are both catchy and melodic. Even when multiple instruments are used, the production keeps the sound short, sweet and tight. Reading the reviews about a "new, happy Suede" I though I'd hate this album, but I was wrong. It's an album that any Suede fan will enjoy, if not eventually love.

Let me start of by saying this is not on the level of dog man star. There will never be another dog man star, until Bernard rejoins. Get that through your head, and you will discover that A New Morning is on a par with if not better than the better than it should have been comeback album, Coming Up. The tracks here are infused with an energy and yes, "positivity"
that was so sorely lacking from the tepid and terrible Head Music. In fact, Head Music was so bad it nearly put me off Suede for good, but I decided to take one more chance... I'm glad I did.
This album has taken the Suede formula and injected some nice new flourishes, like the bleating rawness of Bretts voice, the harmonica on "Obsessions", the accoustic interlude of the title track. The tunes are solid, and yes it may be familiar, but in a comforting way rather than a repetitive one. Ignore the naysayers! Skip this one and you're doing yourself an injustice.

In the wake of their late-2003 break-up, this is Suede's final album. And while a solid album, it's rather weak and certainly their worst effort. Anderson's voice no longer has the coked-up whine and snarl of old, which works on the more polished songs but sounds rather thin on other songs. Overall Suede seem to have been going for a more mature sound here, and it shows. However, some of Anderson's lyrics are almost self-parodic, such as the "beat of the concrete streets" and "you belong watching CCTV"...topics he'd written about many more times and much better in the past. However, there are some great songs on here, such as Positivity, Beautiful Loser, Lonely Girls, the suite of Untitled......Morning, and the near-perfect Astrogirl.

Listening to this album, you get the feeling the reference in the title is to the rest of Suede's catalogue. After that lurid, exhilerating, sometimes incomprehensible dream, you have this album; lucid and stark. The theme is best shown in the split track 'Untitled/Morning' where sickly romanticism ("Like flies on a windscreen / and like insects in glue / we could - _stick together_ - if you wanted to") gives way to the clean chords and simple lyrics of 'Morning.' The album as a whole, though, doesn't share Morning's cautiosly upbeat tone. Suede's ballads have always taken place in tired urban settings, and never has this world been dealt with less romantically than here. The lyrics are much sparer and the music less lilting; there are no violin ballads like 'Everything Will Flow,' or surreal romps like 'So Young' or other songs from the earier period. Many of the songs sound simply weak at first listen, they're so understated, but in particular 'Lost in TV' and 'Untitled' have a quiet power which becomes apparent after a couple of listens. 'Astrogirl' gives a hint of the old days, and is a really terrific song. The closing sequence is perfectly ordered; the centerpiece of 'Untitled/Morning,' followed by the faint promise of relief in 'One Hit to the Body' and ending with the fully realized, vocally lush 'When the Rain Falls,' which sounds like an offer of truce with the world. The extra tracks on the end aren't up to much, though, only confirming my theory that the 'minor' songs were the ones that suffered with Butler's departure.

I dock one star because I still prefer Suede's more fantastic work, but you have to respect what they've tried for and accomplished here. This album is really cohesive and interesting, and not a bad listen either.

I had to edit my original review when it was written waay way back in 2002. I'll be honest, this album was just plain flat out mediocre. Suede in my mind were a band that thrived in the 90's. They should have called it quits after Head Music. That album was a more fitting way to go out than A New Morning. People complained about Head Music back in 99 they would have heart attacks after listening to this garbage. The lyrics are juvenile and stupidly simple. Was this the same band that wrote 'We Are The Pigs', 'Whipsnade', 'Heroine'? They lost so much when Bernard Butler bailed. They lost a complex sound and production. He seemingly was the brains and the soul of the band. While 'Coming Up' was excellent, it sounded less grandiose, deep and more basic. But the songs were great and they still had their mojo pumping through their veins. Richard Oakes is a great guitarist, he can play. But he can't write music like Butler could, in terms of skill level they were even. But Bernard added something special to the songs and atmosphere of the band and they never really replicated it since. We all talk about it because their early 90's material was so superior that people had to look for where it all went wrong.

Positivity is a nice poppy song, not on the level of their best work, perhaps a b-side for Coming Up. Obsessions is really the only track that holds up after so long, its catchy and its a traditional guitar track. The best track from these album is not even on the album,'Simon' the b-side is the closest to something from 'Dog Man Star'. Whoever decided to leave that out was an idiot. Astrogirl is a good track too. I can say that the best tracks are perhaps b-side material the 'Suede' and 'Dog Man Star' albums, even 'Coming Up'. Brett Anderson's voice is cracked, old and worn out here. It's the biggest disappointment outside of the ludicrous lyrics. I don't get how a band can fall so fast. Even Head Music sounded breezy, confident and well written. The only thing that killed that album for me was the overuse of keyboards making it sound "plasticky" and cheap. But the songs were there, the band were still groovin. This album shows a band that has aged and lost any sort of confidence in their sound and themselves. Nobody cared because the album charted terribly and it never even got an American release unlike the prior albums. In an interview Brett Anderson laments it's release and realizes that it probably should never have been released. I agree. In hindsight we all see 20-20.

"A New Morning", Suede's fifth and final album may not be the swan song we all hoped for, but it still has its moments of greatness. When 1999's "Head Music" came out, opinions were mixed, but people could understand, Suede were "experimenting" with their abilities and sound.

So "A New Morning" was of course going to be the return to the Suede we loved wasn't it? Well, it turns out that is only half true. The album is definitely more consistent than "Head Music", but at times, its simplicity is just uninspiring.

When the album is good, it is great, with classic Suede songs like the acoustic heavy "Lost in TV" or the sunny pop of first single "Positivity". But when the album is bad, such as when the band sink deeper into self-parady with the tired "Beautiful Loser" and "Street Life", it really is cringe-inducing. Also, Keyboardist Neil Codling left before the making of the record, and Alex Lee was brought in to fill his shoes, and this really shows as the album focuses back on guitars over synths which is refreshing in that sense. But even with the help of John Leckie and Stephen Street as producers, the songs themselves just aren't very strong.

With most Suede albums, singer/lyricist Brett Anderson was out to shock and please, but here he has obviously lost his demon, and just attempts safer material such as with the Oasis-esque "Obsessions". To make matters worse, Anderson's much publicized drug problems have taken an affect on his vocals, and his nasally howl has been replaced with a throaty growl.

This album, much like "Head Music", still has about half of it consisting of solid tracks, including the lovely "Lonely Girls" and the sweet "Astrogirl", which both suffer in the lyric department but really shine with melody. But even the album's worst songs are far superior to the worst of "Head Music".

All in all, this wasn't the comeback we wanted, but a handful of great tracks makes this a definite purchase for Suede fans, while newcomers and fans of the old sleazy Suede might want to start with the earlier catalog.

This is a great album. A definite upswing from the last album, and ranks with Coming Up as one of the band's best. There's a lot of heart in these songs--evidence of the band's maturity and growth. If you can get a copy with the extra tracks I'd say go ahead as they are an added treat. Even though this one is not planned for US issue this year, you can try out the Canadian retailers to get yours w/o the hefty import price. Enjoy!

A NEW MORNING is a fun, solid release from Suede, with energetic songs and some truly breathless moments. But is it worthy of them? Suede burst onto the scene in the early 90s with the fastest selling debut record in history, practically inventing Britpop on the way, and putting to task bands such as Pulp, Blur, and Oasis. It was a phenomenal debut, with singles such as "Drowners" and "Metal Mickey" becoming instant classics. Suede became a band of such immediate importance that it's hard not to look at A NEW MORNING in relation to their body of work as a whole. DOG MAN STAR was a stunning follow-up with its lush sweeping soundscapes, aching ballads, and feverish theatricality. After Bernard Butler left the band, it's hard to say that the band never fully recovered, because the sleazy glam-rock-athon that was COMING UP was arguably their best album, and the too-good-to-be-b-sides 2-disc set SCI-FI LULLABIES is essential, and my personal favorite. In 1999, they released Headmusic, which was the first time Suede truly disappointed me. It was a superficial, nifty record that had no backbone, and left no impression.

Unfortunately, A NEW MORNING continues stolidly in that same vein. This is Suede Lite. The songs are swell, with by-the-numbers song structures, and hooks in all the right places. But something feels watered-down, a bit flat about this one. And it's not just Brett Anderson's re-discovered voice. It's as if the band has simply run out of ideas. ... basically that evocative, razor-tipped edge that has defined so much of their music. This album opens with "Positivity" and then follows it up with "Obsessions." Both these songs could easily have been included on Headmusic, they have that same strained, mundane, pop-song mold to them. "Streetlife" and "Beautiful Loser" are better songs, if not great, but unmemorable. You can hum along easily, but they won't stick in your head. Richard Oakes' guitar-work sails through these songs with clever riffs, and the keyboards are never in-essential. The sound is all there, without the power to gel.

"Lonely Girls" is an unexpectedly lovely ballad. My two favorite songs are "Lost in TV" and "Astrogirl" because they hark back to DOG MAN STAR in the power of their sound, which is noteworthy here, and seem almost a homage to the space-rock-era Romanticism of early David Bowie. "The sky goes on and on for you and me!" Brett wails longingly on "Astrogirl." The band does break new ground with the beautifully orchestrated "Untitled...Morning", which reminds you of their singular talent, and seemingly stops the rest of the album cold.

Wow, does this CD nosedive in the latter half. "One Hit to the Body" and the dreadful "When the Rain Falls" recall the droning hair bands of the 80s (without the irony) such as Extreme and White Lion. The album closes with the formulaic "You Belong to Me" and the "hidden" last song, "Oceans", which should have remained WELL hidden, given its scoring of 12 out of 10 on the cheese scale. As usual, much has been made of their b-sides, but I didn't find any of the ones I heard to deserve any special mention here.

Suede is a great band that has hit a bit of stagnation. Die-hard Suede fans will probably be pleased in the end, once you keep playing A NEW MORNING over and over again, and convince yourself this is the best they could come up with.

This is an entirely dismal CD. There are a thousand dismal CDs out there, but this one has the distinction of being from a band that once really had something. Unfortunately, that "Something" was called Bernard Butler, and it's been gone since the brilliant Dog Man Star.

I'm not expecting them to recapture that magic, since their principal songwriter is now gone, but come on, they've written good songs without him. This is just horrible boring soft-rock that sounds more like Bryan Adams than David Bowie.

The worst part is, I thought this record could have been good. I liked some of the Head Music B-sides, and I thought Suede might actually be on an upswing. I even liked the live versions of some of these songs that got to me before the record. However, Stephen Street apparently decided to produce this record as if he were producing music for a chocolate milk commercial. There is no spark of life buried anywhere within it.

Richard Oakes's guitar playing has actually declined from its lofty status of "mediocre" into the depths of "pretty bad." That's not just compared to Bernard Butler. This is pretty bad no matter how you slice it. Listen to "Beautiful Loser" for an example. His guitar playing just aimlessly stumbles and wanders through the song with absolutely no direction, imagination, or skill. He tries to play a lead through the whole song (like Bernard would have, for example) but ends up weaving a tangled web of [chaos]. At best, his guitar playing is passible on this album, but the work on that song probes the depths of terribleness.

The only song on this record that seems to be anything but pure vacant drivel is "Oceans," which is mysteriously confined to a secret track tacked onto the downright godawful "When The Rain Falls."

If you're a Suede fan, do yourself a favor and stay far, far away from this one (unless you're some 14-year-old teenybopper from Holland who loves Suede on the "strength" of Head Music).

When I first listened to A New Morning when it was released I was very disappointed. I found it to be boring and uninspired. Upon further listening, especially with the release of Brett Anderson's solo debut I have a much greater appreciation for this album. It is a more mature Suede, with Brett in fine vocal form. The musical arrangements are simple yet elegant. If you like Brett's solo album I would recommend this album as a companion piece. I still am a big fan of Suede with Dog Man Star and Sci Fi Lullabies as two albums I have been fascinated with for over a decade.