Suede. Are. Back.

viinyl.comAnd there it is, the first new Suede song in a decade – since “Attitude”, from their 2003 Singles compilation – and being a bit nervous about hitting “play” is reasonable. Accepting that it won’t be on par with anything from Suede or Dog Man Star – Bernard Butler isn’t back in the fold, and even when he and Brett Anderson do get back together, they can’t recreate that same magic – there’s still the question of if it’ll be more “Trash” or even “Electricity” than “Positivity” (which is to say, great, alright, or terrible).

And I will rank “Barriers” somewhere in-between those first two. Not as immediately exhilarating as “Trash”, but certainly worth a sigh of relief that – if it’s representative of the band’s new material – that Brett Anderson was good as his word that if their recent recording sessions weren’t up to snuff, they wouldn’t be released. Anderson’s lyrics have those old-school decadent Suede allusions, even if they do sound a bit forced, and Fat Richard – whom I promise I will eventually stop calling Fat Richard but not quite yet – offers some solidly Butler-esque whammied guitar-work, but most importantly it’s got some real energy and dramatic sweep to it, to say nothing of a properly big chorus. I think I’ve listened to it more already this morning than I did to “Positivity” ever. Thank you, Suede, for not going ballad-y for your return.

The album – their first in over a decade since 2002’s forgettable A New Morning – will be called Bloodsports and is due out in March. The first official single – which this taste is not – will be called “It Starts And Ends With You” and released next month. I dunno guys, sounds kind of ballad-y.

Brett Anderson talks to NME about the new single and the band’s recorded return.

And while I’m on the topic, could someone please reissue the Suede catalog on vinyl? I was looking at $125 copies of Dog Man Star on eBay yesterday and thinking, “hey that’s not bad”. And then I slapped myself.

MP3: Suede – “Barriers”

Django Django have unchained released a new video from last year’s self-titled debut. They’re at the Opera House on March 12.

Video: Django Django – “Hand Of Man”

Stornoway are streaming the first taste of their second album Tales From Terra Firma, due out March 11.

Stream: Stornoway – “Knock Me On The Head”

The Line Of Best Fit has a video session with Echo Lake.

The xx talk to Rolling Stone about what they’ve got planned for their upcoming North American tour.

In conversation with The Gold Coast Bulletin, M.I.A. reveals her next album Matangi will be out on April 15.