Dog Man Star (Deluxe Version)

Escalating tensions between frontman Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler had come to a head, resulting in Butler’s departure before Suede's second album was finished. Subsequently, the songs on Dog Man Star veered from the band’s hip-shaking glam rock, leaning harder on the darkly romantic bedroom ballads. The strongest of these was “The Wild Ones”: a soaring serenade enveloped in beautifully moody melodies, making for what Anderson has repeatedly referred to as his all-time favorite Suede song. The slightly more uptempo “We Are the Pigs” is another album standout. The song's unpredictable melodies consciously aimed to put a distance between the band and the then-burgeoning britpop of Blur and Oasis. By infusing its songs with personal tensions and the melancholic lows that followed its first album's success, Suede dodged a sophomore slump. The result is what many fans and critics regard as the band’s best album. Three previously unreleased demos bookend the deluxe reissue.