Ten years ago, Suede was in the process of fizzling out to a backdrop of apathy. For a band whose initial brilliance inadvertently help kick-start Britpop in the 1990s, it all seemed unedifying: a farewell tour, sparsely attended, was met with a collective shrug of the shoulders and was testament to the malaise that had taken hold of the outfit.
Singer Brett Anderson, much like the family of a terminally ill relative, tried to make the best of the situation, but when he told the audience at the band's last gig at the London Astoria in December 2003 "there will be another Suede record," it seemed like a hollow promise, and not a particularly inviting one at that.
But fast-forward a decade and Anderson has improbably been proved right. What's more, "Bloodsports," the band's first new collection for 11 years, is — unlike those of many veteran bands that regroup — the sort of record that has people reaching for synonyms for "return to form."