Rock

Suede
Antidepressants
BMG 964174092; LP: 964174111

The title of Suede’s tenth album appears to revisit Brett Anderson’s fascination with life’s darker moments, which he explored in song when they broke into the early-’90s pre-Britpop scene. But with age comes perspective and the title track addresses the possibilities of simple joy in an over-diagnosed, over-medicated world. With spiky pop tunes allied to rock swagger, Suede sound as fresh and vital as ever, and long-time producer Ed Buller conjures up shadowy sonics illuminated by chiming guitars. The poignant ‘Somewhere Between An Atom And A Star’ comes from a work-in-progress ballet score – who’d have thought that? – and on ‘Life Is Endless, Life Is A Moment’, Anderson sounds particularly impassioned. MB

Sound Quality: 90%

Saint Etienne
International
Heavenly HVNLP240CD; LP: HVNLP240

In the early ’90s, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs formed Saint Etienne as an indie dance band that reflected their love of pop history, particularly songs and soundtracks from the ’60s, and their swansong is a typically vivid mix of current and classic musical styles and production techniques. It was initially intended that the duo would be augmented by guest singers, so it’s fitting that vocalist Sarah Cracknell duets here with Janet Planet from Confidence Man on the sunny, brass-fuelled grooves of ‘Brand New Me’ and Nick Heyward on ‘Dancing Heart’. And as the curtains close on the group with ‘The Last Time’, the song’s lyrics are more wry than valedictory. MB

Sound Quality: 85%

Prolapse
I Wonder When They’re Going To Destroy Your Face
Tapete TR595CD; LP: TR595LP

The Leicester-based indie band may have been silent for 26 years, but little has changed since they were a favourite of John Peel. Their dual vocalists’ unique relationship remains intact. Mick Derrick rants like a punter about to be roughly ejected at closing time, in stark contrast to Linda Steelyard’s cool tunefulness, and they bicker, cajole and sing across each other. The musicians still play with a single-mindedness that lands somewhere between The Fall and Stereolab, and on the single ‘On The Quarter Days’, the ensemble achieves a desperate intensity as they struggle to establish meaning in a world where ‘nothing is worth anything’. MB

Sound Quality: 80%

Sydney Minsky Sargeant
Lunga
Domino WIGCD560; LP: WIGLP560X

Minsky Sargeant last appeared in these pages three years ago [HFN Oct ’22] as the main man behind Working Men’s Club’s Fear Fear, an unsettling blast of pop-tinged neo-industrial funk. His first solo album is very different. A brief introduction of processed harp and birdsong segues into ‘For Your Hand’, its romantic sentiments straight out of folk song, and the acoustic guitar picking and spartan piano comes across like Nick Drake. Bolstered by overdubbed harmonies, MS’s doleful baritone and strong melodic sense transfers convincingly into this format and elsewhere; subtle use of electric guitar, drums, synths and electronic effects contributing to a striking stylistic hybrid. MB

Sound Quality: 80%