''Slow Attack'' is the third solo album by the English singer

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted the Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004� ...

, and released in 2009. This is Anderson's last solo album before

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

's reformation in 2010.

Background

Produced by Anderson with new writing partner

Leo Abrahams Leo Matthew Abrahams (born 28 November 1977) is an English musician, composer and producer. He has collaborated with Brian Eno, Katie Melua, Imogen Heap, Jarvis Cocker, Carl Barât, Regina Spektor, Jon Hopkins and Paul Simon. After attending th ...

, it follows 2008's ''

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

''. Anderson said: "It was conceived and created in the bleak London winter. It's when I feel most creative, as I often feel inspired to drown in music to escape the city's icy embrace." The album is described as being influenced by film soundtracks and the work of

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...

singer

Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band ...

, and features a great deal of woodwind instrumentation. Anderson said the record was "massively inspired by ''

Spirit Of Eden ''Spirit of Eden'' is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. It was compiled from a lengthy recording process at London's Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988, with songs written by singer Mar ...

'' and the sense of drama in it." On his new release, Anderson said: "It's a new chapter for me. I finally feel like I'm starting to establish my own identity as a solo artist." Anderson has said that his new year tour will be devoid of any

songs. His live shows up until now have always included early songs and B-sides, however Anderson feels it is time to move on. Speaking to '' The Herald'' he says: "This is my third solo album and I think it’s time to move away from that... I still love those songs, they mean a lot to me, but I need some space from them." Anderson wrote the album between January and May 2009, during which time he had written more than thirty songs. The sleeve was designed by Brett Anderson and photographer Paul Khera.

Reception

The album was more warmly received than his previous album. However, it still garnered a mixed reaction from critics.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

do not have an aggregate score for this album, though competitor site AnyDecentMusic? rated the album 5.7/10 based on nine reviews. Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', who was a harsh critic of ''Wilderness'' said: "this is by far his best solo effort, the collaboration with producer/arranger Leo Abrahams prompting Anderson's most interesting output since his alliance with

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation; BBC journalist Mark Savage called him "one of Britain's most origina ...

." Joshua Klein of ''

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'' rated the album 7.0 out of 10 and commented positively on Anderson's departure from Suede manifestations in his music. He wrote: "But if his first two solo albums came across self-conscious refutations of his roots, Anderson was at least brave enough to stick to his guns. ''Slow Attack'' doesn't always make sense in the context of Suede, but as far as solo Anderson goes, this album marks a logical next step in his transformation. Slow and steady, it's a promising sign of progress."

Track listing

All songs written by

and

, except where noted. #"Hymn" – 3:36 #"Wheatfields" (Anderson) – 4:06 #"The Hunted" – 4:01 #"Frozen Roads" – 4:34 #"Summer" – 3:24 #"Pretty Widows" – 4:06 #"The Swans" – 4:39 #"Ashes of Us" – 4:41 #"Scarecrows and Lilacs" – 4:29 #"Julian's Eyes" – 3:46 #"Leave Me Sleeping" (Anderson) – 3:18

iTunes Edition

12. "Forest Lullaby"

Japanese Edition

12. "With You, Within You"

Japanese Bonus CD ROM

1. "Frozen Roads"
2. "Ashes of Us"
3. "When Doves Cry" (

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

)
4. "Leave Me Sleeping"
5. "The Hunted" (Video)

References

{{Authority control Brett Anderson albums 2009 albums Albums produced by Leo Abrahams