I suppose the loss of virtuoso guitarist Bernard Butler, to Suede, would be equivalent to the loss of a limb. Now, personally I'd hate to lose a limb -- I, quite expectedly, prefer to have all my limbs intact. There's a lot of things I do that take two feet to do, and even more things that take both hands, thus if I lost a limb I think it'd affect my life significantly (ahem... duh!). Not to say that I couldn't cope without it, of course, but it would certainly impair my performance in just about every physical aspect of life. Maybe in the future I'd consider having a prosthetic limb put in place: a lump of material in the shape of said limb that may be able to perform some of the functions that my old limb used to perform, but may or may not quite be able to replicate these functions as effectively. But hey, it'd be something, and on the outside I suppose I could give the illusion of full-limbed-ness... yeah. While losing a limb would probably seem disastrous to me at first, I'd get over it and get on with life sooner or later, I think.
That weird hypothetical situation draws a comfy parallel to Suede's situation at the end of 1994, however sick that may seem to some of you. See, when Butler (one of the brightest and most talented guitarists in Britain at the time) walked out on the band after their sublime sophomore masterwork Dog Man Star, it might've seemed like the band was finished to a lot of people. Suede circa 1993 had been the media's darlings; after releasing their self-titled debut, they were heralded as the 'best band in Britain', and this is only really evident of how badly Britain was in need of a good band at the time. However, they _were_ accomplished, flashy, and technically proficient, a lot of which was down to the spiralling solos and whirling riffs of Butler (but also maybe in part due to the camp posturing of lead singer Brett Anderson -- in the end, who really knows?) -- they even capitalised on this media exposure by hyping up the aforementioned sophomore effort. Dog Man Star was claimed to be very pretentious and ambitious, and the thing is... they pulled it off. It's a pity that Butler decided to walk before they'd finished recording, but at least he'd polished off just about every guitar part (Anderson played one).
Sure, the band could've moped; refused to continue making music because they'd lost their talisman. But no, in true prosthetic limb fashion, they managed to replace dear Bernard with a sixteen year-old whose hero was, in fact, Butler (the shock!). Richard Oakes' style was obviously modelled on the former guitarist's, so it's no surprise that the band was able to continue without too much of a stylistic change. 1996's Coming Up was a pleasant, more pop album, and while reasonably entertaining is a definite career low. The album in question, 1999's Head Music (notice the bigger time gap? Yeah...), is altogether more interesting. Sticking with the clearly Butler-inferior Oakes, they decided to mix up their style on this effort: synthesisers become infinitely more prominent, and while all of their early stuff was bathed in an electric, glam-rock glow, this one comes off as more electronic and even chill-out at times.
Given that this is Suede's weirdest and most tangential album (they returned to the glam-rock with 2002's A New Morning), I get the feeling I'm in the minority of Suede fans regarding my opinion on it. Whereas most are sceptical and definitely reluctant to embrace a new approach, I'm glad of it, as it seemed to me that this was just about the right time for a switch-up. A couple of more 'blah' moments aside, this is the band's most varied, interesting, and captivating work. Never content to rest on their laurels, they're at their most inventive with Head Music -- and it's the sign of a band accepting that a loss of personnel doesn't ultimately equal mediocrity.
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It's odd that, while I discuss this album's oddity and its eccentricity, what might just be one of their biggest hits is to be found within. Even if you don't think you've heard "She's In Fashion" before, you probably have (then again, maybe you haven't after all?). It's a very ambient number, with dreamy synths supporting airy guitars as they caress their way through the track. The drums kind of saunter along, and the bass seems uninterested as it whirs a velvety, bouncy rhythm out. This is totally _not_ the Suede of old, incase you couldn't guess; it contains a textured, flowing nature and lyrics like, "She's employed where the sun don't set / And she's the shape of a cigarette / And she's the shake of a tambourine / And she's the colour of a magazine." Hmm, for someone who likes to exude homosexuality (or bisexuality, I'm never sure which), Anderson seems awfully enamoured with her. Anyway, it mightn't be deserving of the position it has on Suede's hit list, but it's a reasonably impressive track. "Everything Will Flow" is composed of a lot of the same elements -- heavenly synths, a quirky beat and shattering guitar parts -- but is far superior. Apparently it was another hit single, and the synths really do play a wondrous part in this one, kicking in and swooning at the chorus. Listening carefully, I can hear the faintest electronic blips in this song, but I really don't want to listen _that_ carefully, especially since I'm being carried away on a wave of trippy joy by the rest of the track.
"Electricity" might've also been a single at some point, and it kicks the album off in entirely different fashion to the two aforementioned tracks. It bursts into life with big fuzzy bass and screeching guitars, continuing with a clunky dense beat and that same fuzzy style. The guitars try to scream for help in the choruses, but unfortunately they're buried amidst all that mess of noise. I guess what might be defined as a solo gleams out later on, but all in all this is a very bold and funky electronic-style track to kick things off with. Immediately following this is "Savoir Faire", which obviously has the stupidest lyrics on the entire disc, and if they're not intentionally this way then I'm worried ("She live in a house / She stupid as a mouse", or, "And she got everything she needs / And she got pretty, pretty feet / And she got flowers in her hair"). The music is dirge-like but has a droningly syncopated drum and bass rhythm that kicks in and out of rhythm whenever it feels like it (although I could hardly call what I hear 'drums', and the same goes for the 'bass'). The guitars spit out chunks that I suppose could be melded together and called a 'riff'. The thing about the song is, it all _works_, and it's one of the more annoyingly catchy songs I've ever heard in my life. Mainly because you sound like an idiot when you try to sing along... "Can't Get Enough" keeps the variety of the opening trio consistent by driving along amidst pummelling drums and an itchy, minimalistic riff that eventually gets its way at one point and ploughs forward, controlling the song with force. Things are punctuated by plentiful handclapping, and let's just say that this is one big happy romp.
Then we get to the annoying stage of the quirkiness. "Elephant Man" I could've really done without, to be honest. The title is indicative of the style of music here: big, plodding, clumsy and in your face. But it's all a sorry mess in reality, and sickeningly cheesy as it stamps along ruthlessly. I also have some qualms about "Down", which -- while being a beautiful, piano-led chill-out tune -- does drag itself on about two minutes longer than it really should. There's even a really unnecessary little finale extension (special!) tacked on at the end. Bleugh. "Hi-Fi" and "Crack In The Union Jack" appear nearer the end of the album and also don't do much for me. The former is a little bit too slow and drugged-up and fuzz-ridden for my liking; the latter is echoic and acoustic but ultimately bland and uninteresting.
However, these are minor flaws, and redeemed by some of the other intriguing tracks spattered throughout the disc. The title track, for example, with its cheeky chorus of "Give me head / Give me head / Give me head music instead" (which I shamelessly copied for my title), has the most obvious and jagged riff on the entire album, also being laden with whooping synth effects. It's undeniably catchy too, which is also a plus, unless you don't like singing "Give me head" over and over again in particular places. "Indian Strings" is absolutely gorgeous with an almost tribal beat and one of the most captivating and immersing riffs I've heard for a while. The song sounds like the title says it will, and there's nothing I like better than an appropriate title. Finally, "Asbestos" has one of those distinctive tinny beats, a bulging bass line and whistling, eerie synths, all combining to make it another intoxicating track.
Suede prove to me on Head Music that they can firstly vary their music outside of glam-rock, and secondly cope without Bernard Butler. This is a fascinating album packed full of varied electronic/synth-dominated songs and other oddities that just can't help but endear it to the listener. Personally it's one of my favourite Suede albums, even if no-one else seems to think so. They might've lost a limb early on in their career, but they've proven they can still pump out strong music regardless. Well done to them.
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Excellent: Electricity, Everything Will Flow, Head Music, Indian Strings
Good: Savoir Faire, Can't Get Enough, She's In Fashion, Asbestos, He's Gone
Average: Down, Hi-Fi
Weak: Elephant Man, Crack In The Union Jack
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