Album Review: Antidepressants by The London Suede

Brett Anderson and co go for broke on tenth album, unleashing eleven songs of resilience and rebellion that refuse to accept the status quo With the high-profile rebirth of Oasis and Pulp, the Britpop revival juggernaut has reached maximum operating speed. Yet alongside these two titans sit Suede, in danger of going under the radar as they return with album number ten. This would be unforgivable, for as Antidepressants proves, Brett Anderson and company are making the most vital music of their careers.

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"It's broken music and it's broken people that will save the world!" sings Brett Anderson on "Broken Music for Broken People," which opens the second half of Antidepressants. It's Suede's tenth long player and second in their trilogy of "black and white albums" after 2022's Autofiction. Described earlier this year by frontman Brett Anderson as Suede's post-punk record, Antidepressants certainly takes its cue from many of that genre's associated artists with several of the album's 11 songs bearing musical hallmarks not that dissimilar to Public Image Ltd, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Chameleons and The Sisters of Mercy among others.

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They could've even chosen to sideline the 2022 triumphant 'comeback' success of Autofiction's punk energy and decided to settle. But instead they arrive with Antidepressants, a tenth studio album that feels less like a late-career coda and far more like a daring new beginning. The band, for all their beautiful intimacy and orchestration, have always thrived on rawer sounding, more fractured songs that crack with a live electricity.

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Suede are in the midst of an impressive, productive second act, and their latest goth-infused Antidepressants is a testament to that. Since 2013, three years after their live reunion, Suede have released five studio albums, equaling the total number of records during their first act (ignoring their lustrous B-sides, taking a lesson or two from the Smiths). Certainly, their latest five records are more consistent than their first five.

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Authentic, anthemic and accomplished, Suede's tenth record has been described by frontman Brett Anderson as “broken music for broken people”. The 11-track collection cranks up the drama, twisting the raw energy of 2022's 'Autofiction' into a dense, distorted fever dream – blending post-punk gloom with eerie, emotive intimacy. It’s a playbook of the anxieties of modern life, diving into chaos and paranoia, while still being grounded by a sense of purpose and defiance.

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This tenth album from Suede might not quite fit the definition offered by frontman Brett Anderson in the early stages of its genesis ("experimental" is, of course, often a relative term), but there's nothing across these eleven tracks that suggests the Sussex stalwarts have ripped up theirs, or anyone's rulebook. Still, what 'Antidepressants' does succeed at is living up to its name: its similarly suitable working title came from centrepiece and standout 'Broken Music For Broken People', a song which bears greatest similarity to the band's '90s megahits while also possessing a passing resemblance to Alternative National Anthem 'Mr. Brightside'.

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