The Tears have arrived.
The Tears‘ line up officially reads Brett Anderson on vocals, Bernard Butler on guitar, Nathan Fisher on bass, Will Foster on keyboards, and Mako Sakamoto on drums. In reality, it may as well just say ‘Anderson and Butler, reunited at last’.
Their creative partnership began after Butler responded to an advert for a guitarist in NME, back in October 1989, and resulted in the forming of Suede. Lasting for five years, in which the songwriting team burned so brightly in their swift rise it wasn’t long before they were mentioned in the same breath as the Morrissey and Marr companionship, before it dissolved into arguments and verbal abuse. The fall out came before the band’s second album ‘Dog Man Star’ was wrapped, and on 19th July 1994, Butler’s departure from Suede was officially announced.
Despite doubts that the band could stand on just one leg, Suede snapped back from the shock and managed to release five more albums whilst Bernard worked solo and dabbled in collaboration. After ploughing ahead with only half of their creative power, going through several lineup changes, and immersing themselves a little too far in the destructive rock n’ roll lifestyle, the band disbanded on good terms, Anderson stating that he “need[ed] to do whatever it takes to get [his] demon back”.
Butler turned out to be this long-lost element. After practically a decade of silence stretching between them, and only a chance encounter that almost put Anderson under Butler’s car in 1996 to qualify as a meeting, they finally sat down for a quiet talk – once Brett made the first move and picked up the phone. Pushing aside the enmity that drove them apart, they convened at Butler’s home studio to demo their new material, making the final mix in a studio in East London.
“The first thing we said when we got together was that we won’t release a note of music unless the album’s spectacular” declared Anderson, his renewed vigour and creativity as high as during the sessions which provided the first, and some would argue best, Suede album. Naming themselves The Tears, as per the inspiration granted by the last line of the Philip Larkin poem ‘Femmes Damnées’ – a cheerless, depressing yet poignantly poetic affair, they are set for a resurrection.
Brushing off the dust for a live showcase of the new material, the band played several sold out gigs to eager fans, many of whom were seeing the dynamic duo together on stage for the first time. A proper tour is set to commence this month, and is likely to only whet our appetite further. The consensus is that whatever it is they have cooked up, it’s certainly noteworthy. But don’t expect any Suede songs, Butler insists, and rightly so – this band is called The Tears for a reason.
Their first – and hopefully not only – album ‘Here Come The Tears’ is to drop sometime in June, preceded by the single ‘Refugees’ on April 25th. Expectations are running high, fueled by the delay of both releases. Wiser from their ten years apart, and eager to make great music together, it’s time they wowed a whole new generation of music devotees.
Previously published on This Is Fake DIY.
