893 Suede - Sci-Fi Lullabies (1997)

 893 Suede - Sci-Fi Lullabies (1997)

B-Side Compilation - Britpop




About the Act:

Suede are a rock/britpop band from London, England. They are known as one of the big four britpop bands, along with Blur, Oasis, and Pulp. They have had a few member changes, 8 studio albums, lots of sales, a good slew of awards, and one break in service between 2003 and 2010. 


About the Album:

This is a compilation of b-sides to singles off the first three albums. It is a double album.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

Slightly above meh. So it's b-sides, and the traditional makeup of the b-side is that it is both more interesting and less radio-friendly than the a-side, although sometimes it is less interesting than the a-side. I'm going to spend much less time describing this album than it took to listen to it twice, because it's looooooong. And because it is a compilation, it doesn't have the rhythm and flow of a crafted album. 

Can I just say at this point, how many singles did they have off the first three albums? There are 27 songs here. They either released almost every track off the three albums as an A-side, or... they had more than one B-side, possibly in CD singles.

Musically, sorry, but meh. This is where I know there may be people reading who love Suede and might get frustrated with me. Sorry, I trey to look for the good in everything I listen to for these reviews, but I just couldn't get excited about the music. It's OK, just not interesting. Let me break that down a bit, actually the guitar annoys me a bit, both the tone and playing. The bass and drums are much better. Added to this, I don't like Brett Andersons's voice. Having this back-to-back with Arctic Monkeys, I'd much rather listen to their Alex Turner. Brett sounds too whiney to me. Some might find him plaintive and evocative. 

So what makes it above meh? The lyrics. There are some really interesting lyrics here. Some nice ideas and turns of phrase, not a cliche in sight. In fact, I applaud the songwriting. I'm just a bit underwhelmed by the rest.


6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6ukZd2059uQcHtJJ7BLfEG

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSvlIjxdcISUQ9AU9BJdP8NA7UMpAl80

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sci-Fi_Lullabies


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