Album Review: Suede - Bloodsports

Back in the '90s while Blur and Oasis were wishing AIDS on each other and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker was getting arrested for wiggling his arse at Michael Jackson, Suede were a Britpop band that didn't seem to embrace laddish culture in quite the same way as their contemporaries. Instead they were making pop music that was about a decaying decadence, embracing David Bowie instead of football and lager. And like their musical inspiration's recent renaissance, a Suede reunion has resulted in one of their career highlights.

Bloodsports is dark, enigmatic and with a stunning richness that immediately reminds the listener why Suede at their best was always such a dynamic presence. On What Are You Not Telling Me?,  singer Brett Anderson's voice cuts through the echoing guitars while the bittersweet backup vocals fade and drift away. The heartbreak and disappointment is palpable, despite its restraint. Elsewhere the band builds thrilling rock around Anderson's vocals; guitars swell and leave no space around songs such as Sabotage and It Starts And Ends With You. Then there's Barriers - a big rock anthem, with an all-encompassing chorus and a racing heart-beat of a drum rhythm.

When bands fail to evolve their reunion albums sound dated, but Suede was always a band one slight step out of time. Back in the '90s the band sounded more world weary and cynical than their peers. Now, having banished their demons, there's an underlying hope to this album – an exuberance that makes Bloodsports sound fresh and vital. And surprisingly, more like the start of a new Suede era than anything the band put out as their original career was dwindling away.