While Oasis and Blur might have received most of the media ink in the

middle part of the decade, when it comes to Anglo-rock in the '90s, for

my money the two most dominant forces have been the Manic Street Preachers

and the London Suede, both of whom made their debuts in 1992. The latter

group, especially, helped revive an early-'90s rock scene bogged down in

Vedder-esque angst and reminded us that rock 'n' roll, at its best, is

about transcending one's personal circumstances, rather than merely

wallowing in the mire.

On Head Music Suede have replaced longtime producer Ed Buller

with Happy Mondays man Steve Osborne, which has resulted in a more varied

rhythm section for singer/lyricist Brett Anderson's usual gutter-dandy

scenarios. Don't call it dance: how about Mechano–glam rock? "Savoir

Faire" (RealAudio

excerpt), "Can't Get Enough" and the title track bump and grind

along in such a fashion, while the band reverts to more traditional form

on the soaring, Scott Walker–esque ballad "Everything Will Flow"

and the more subdued "Down" (RealAudio

excerpt) ("And all the pissheads in the bar/ Say you're down"),

which features more traditionally Suedean high melodrama set off by

Anderson's gorgeous falsetto and a sighing, Ziggy-esque outro.

"She's in Fashion" throws away any pretense toward rocking out and

instead floats along on a puffy cloud of pure pop, with Brett singsonging

"I said the sunshine will blow my mind/ And the wind blow my brain" as

the song fades.

The loping, lascivious "Asbestos" (RealAudio

excerpt), with dandified keyboardist Neil Codling (who contributes

the disposable "Elephant Man"—stick to the keys, Neil darling) adds

some loopy fills as Anderson plays the role of a slightly jaded, knowing

observer: "The suburban girls/ And they're making noise/ And they're

making eyes/ At suburban boys" he croons deliciously.

Musically speaking, guitarist Richard Oakes, on his second studio outing

with the band, sounds less indebted to his predecessor, Bernard Butler,

than ever before, adding punch where it's needed (he particularly shines

on the ballad "Indian Strings"), but never overplaying his hand as Herr

Butler was wont to do.

For his part, producer Osborne does a good job at freshening up the band's

sound—in fact, Suede never sounded better than they do here. They

positively gleam and glisten, while simultaneously sounding slinkier

than ever. If you're looking for radical innovation, however, you'd

best go elsewhere. Overall, Brett and the boys don't mess too much with

their winning formula—no drum & bass, no trip-hop—and in their

case, that's good. In a rock year devoid of charisma and flash, Head

Music makes you see the sense in the title track's exhortation to

"Give me head/ Music instead."