"We're not really interested in being controversial. If we wanted to be controversial we'd have called the album I Fuck Dogs."
Maybe they weren't trying to be controversial, but Suede's self-titled debut album is undeniably sexually charged. Brett Anderson's theatrical croon recalls Bowie and Morrissey, but Bernard Butler's dirty guitar riffs would never be found on a Smiths album. This is not a pop album. Do not expect sing-a-long choruses or catchy melodies. Suede is a dark and steamy wet dream.
Of course, the album has plenty of rocking moments from the jangly guitarwork in "Metal Mickey" to the pounding beat of "The Drowners," but the atmosphere the album evokes is slow and surreal. Listen to the reverb-driven production in "Pantomime Horse" or Anderson's calculated delivery in "Animal Nitrate." This album may not be easily accessible because of its lack of traditionally poppy melodies, but creating soundscapes this unique is a feat worth mentioning.
Suede had never been just about the music anyway. This album became the fastest selling album of all time at its release not because of the music, but because of the attitude the music was wrapped in. And no matter what Brett Anderson says, the attitude was definitely controversial.
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