Brett Anderson - Slow Attack

'Slow Attack' is the third solo album from Brett Anderson, the former frontman with Suede. I didn't like them at all in their early 90's heyday, but saw them the night they signed to Nude at the London Falcon, I was there to see support band, the Werefrogs, and as I was leaving saw in the queue Morrissey, and so I stayed and talked to him and ended up seeing Suede as well. Morrissey was was then very shy but sweet. On 'Slow Attack' Brett shows that he has matured very gracefully now he has shaken off all those vampires that worshipped Suede back then. 'Slow Attack' is, as its title implies, a very slow album. It doesn't speed up at all and requires some listening to, so if you expect to rock out to it you will be dissappointed. 'Hymn' opens the work, and like a lot of the rest of the album is piano-based. It has a vocal from Brett that shows that he has lived his life, but came out of it the other end a wiser man. 'Wheatfields' is a very mature song, beautifully arranged and, played on delicate guitar, also features lovely bass and brass. It is a love song for a woman and nature. Brett has dedicated the album to his wife. 'The Hunted' has a faster pace but only just, and is still slow in tempo. The gorgeous 'Frozen Roads' features moody brass and recalls John Lennon's early solo work and the second half of the Beatles' 'Abbey Road'. 'Pretty Windows' is a slow and elegant piano-based number with moody bass and is a love song for the lonely. 'The Swans' has a great guitar swagger to it, while 'Ashes of Us' is cello and guitar paced with Brett singing on it like an angel in church. On 'Scarecrows and Lilacs' Brett is backed by a twangy guitar and sublime-sounding backing vocalists. 'Julian's Eyes' is guitar and oboe-based with added flute and rocks gently. 'Leave Me Sleeping' ends the album. It is very slow, and sounds very downbeat and moody like the rest of the album, but absolutely gorgeous too.

Track Listing:-

1 Hymn
2 Wheatfields
3 The Hunted
4 Frozen Roads
5 Summer
6 Pretty Widows
7 The Swans
8 Ashes of Us
9 Scarecrows & Lilacs
10 Julian's Eyes
11 Leave Me Sleeping
12 With You Within You
13 Forest Lullaby

Live Reviews

Bush Hall, London, 7/3/2007

At only what is his third ever gig as a solo artist, Anthony Strutt is impressed by former Suede star Brett Anderson's set at the London Bush Hall, and finds him at last having grown up

Features

Brett Anderson (2007)

Best known for being the former singer with the bestselling 90's Britpop act Suede, Brett Anderson recently played his first ever solo dates over the course of three nights at the Bush Hall in London. Anna Gudaniec photographs him exclusively for Pennyblackmusic at one of those dates