i've heard the new single by suede, called "positivity." somewhere between head music and, well, now, i guess, suede have become boring. sure, they've had songs that tended towards the dull, but even then they were somewhat redeemed by eastern shadings, bombastic arrangements, or elephant men. "positivity" (how's that for a title?) has none of these things; no obscene killing machines, no shaking of bits to hits, not even shaking of meat to the beat! what it does have is acoustic guitars, string quartets, and, yes, positivity. this could be anyone, frankly, and, unlike a number of bands of the era, suede were never about encouraging youngsters to pick up acoustic guitars. not only has he bleached his hair, brett has also bleached the suede sound: this isn't so much suede as it is gap khaki.

(on a, ha ha, positive note, i've heard several other tracks from the album; the rockers impress most. "obsessions" is just about classic suede, recalling the coming up era, minus the shitty production. the vocal on "beautiful loser" recalls liam gallagher, oddly enough, and the music is straight-up 1994. progress? no, but if progress is the single, i'll live in the past, thanks.)