Editing Suede (band) (section)

===1996–2000: New line up and continuing success===
[[File:Suede in Thailand new.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Suede in Thailand, 1997. Left to right: [[Simon Gilbert (musician)|Simon Gilbert]], [[Richard Oakes (guitarist)|Richard Oakes]], [[Mat Osman]], [[Neil Codling]], and [[Brett Anderson]].]]

In the autumn of 1995, the band was joined by new member [[Neil Codling]], a cousin of Gilbert who played keyboards and second guitar. His first appearance was at a fanclub gig at the Hanover Grand on 27 January 1996, which turned out to be one of Suede's most important performances. A short set, devoid of Butler's songs, was well received by critics. "A set that says, 'No need,'" observed Steve Sutherland in ''NME''.<ref>Barnett, p. 195</ref> Even before ''Dog Man Star'' was released, bassist Mat Osman told ''Select'' magazine in September 1994 that he wanted to move on from the regimented recording process and expansive, multi-layered guitar sounds of that era and focus on more radio-friendly pop music, citing "[[Losing My Religion]]" by [[R.E.M.]] as a song that "doesn't show off in the slightest and is still brilliant."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cavanagh |first1=David |title=3 Unlimited |journal=Select |date=October 1994 |issue=52 |page=86}}</ref> Anderson shared a similar outlook, saying that, in contrast to the band's previous albums, which he felt "suffered at certain times from being quite obscure," he intended the forthcoming album to be "almost like a 'greatest hits.'"<ref name="Telegraph" /> Suede's third album, ''[[Coming Up (album)|Coming Up]]'', was released in September 1996 and was preceded by the successful lead single, "[[Trash (Suede song)|Trash]]", in July. The single was popular and tied with "Stay Together" as the band's highest-charting UK single, reaching number three.<ref name="uk_charts" /> The album would become the band's biggest mainstream success, earning five straight top-10 singles and becoming a hit throughout Europe, Asia, and Canada. ''Coming Up'' never did find a significant audience in America, partly because it appeared nearly a year after its initial release and partly because Suede only supported it with a three-city tour.<ref name="AMG" /> The tour was further complicated by problems in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], where the band's music equipment was stolen, forcing them to play the remaining shows with acoustic guitars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1431379/19970527/london_suede.jhtml|title=London Suede Looks For Missing Gear Online|work=[[MTV.com]]|date=27 May 1997|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=3 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403022214/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1431379/19970527/london_suede.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the album topped the UK chart and became the band's biggest-selling release,<ref name="uk_charts" /> setting expectations high for the follow-up. With the success of the album, Suede secured top billing at the 1997 [[Reading Festival]]. Suede's next release was ''[[Sci-Fi Lullabies]]'', a collection of B-sides, which reached number nine on the UK Album Chart.<ref name="uk_charts" /> The compilation was well-received, with disc one of two being described by critics as the band's strongest collection of songs.<ref name="plagenhoef"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000357reviews.html|title=Suede – Sci-Fi Lullabies|last=Beaumont|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist)|date=4 October 1997|website=[[NME]]|access-date=28 April 2016|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001016032541/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000357reviews.html|archive-date=16 October 2000}}</ref>

By the time the compilation was released in 1997, the Britpop movement was clearly losing momentum, and the band had chosen to part ways with their longtime producer, Ed Buller, before beginning work on the follow-up to ''Coming Up''. Prior to focusing on their next album, the band recorded a version of "Poor Little Rich Girl" for ''Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward'' in 1998. Despite being backed by their second-highest-charting single, "[[Electricity (Suede song)|Electricity]]", Suede's fourth album, ''Head Music'', failed to generate the same critical and listener enthusiasm as their previous records, though it once again topped the UK Albums Chart.<ref name="uk_charts" /> A synthesizer-driven album that placed less emphasis on guitar riffs and more on keyboards, it was produced by [[Steve Osborne]], who had worked with [[Happy Mondays]] and [[New Order (band)|New Order]]. While the album received heavy promotion and substantial financial backing, and garnered near-universal critical acclaim from the UK music press,<ref name="Sturges"/> the consensus among people close to the band was a feeling that things were not quite right. Richard Oakes was aware of the fans' disapproval of the album, as well as Anderson's more gaunt-like appearance and Oakes' own admission of spending two years "being pissed out [his] face and being out of shape."<ref>Barnett, p. 232</ref> Moreover, many critics felt the record's lyrics were too shallow and lacking in substance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/suede-76-1310557|title=Words don't come easy for Brett|work=NME|date=23 October 2000|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022073411/https://www.nme.com/news/music/suede-76-1310557|url-status=live}}</ref> Though others praised the album, feeling that the band were again taking a different direction and charting new territory.<ref name="Sturges">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-week-in-review-1090679.html|title=The Week in Review|last=Sturges|first=Fiona|work=The Independent|date=1 May 1999|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=20 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220003549/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-week-in-review-1090679.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The next three singles released from the album failed to enter the top 10, breaking a streak that had lasted since the 1996 single "Trash". Anderson also faced increasing criticism from fans for his frequent use of redundant vocabulary and limited lyrical themes.<ref name="Times">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/better-the-devil-you-know-blk09dnzl25|title=Better the devil you know|newspaper=The Times|last=Segal|first=Victoria|date=23 April 2005|access-date=30 November 2018|url-access=subscription|archive-date=1 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201051328/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/better-the-devil-you-know-blk09dnzl25|url-status=live}}</ref> The track that received the most attention and criticism was "Savoir Faire".<ref name="Guardian2" /> Some critics linked the album's lyricism to Anderson's heavy drug use at the time, particularly after he later admitted that he "was a crack addict for ages".<ref name="Guardian2">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/11/2|title=Pipe down|last=Harris|first=John|work=The Guardian|date=11 February 2005|author-link=John Harris (critic)|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232351/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/11/2|url-status=live}}</ref> Speaking of his addiction, which plagued him for two and a half years, Anderson said, "Anyone who has ever tried crack will know exactly why I took it. It's the scariest drug in the world because the hit you get from it is so, so seductive. I wanted to experience that, and I did – repeatedly."<ref name="Independent2" /> Suede headlined the [[Roskilde Festival|Roskilde]] and [[V Festival]]s in July and August 1999, respectively. During 2000, there was press speculation that Suede were on the verge of disbanding, which was not helped by Codling's absence from some European gigs. Anderson denied these claims and insisted that Codling was healthy and that they were eager to record the next album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/suede-184-1392698|title=Studio-bound Suede trash split stories|work=NME|date=2 May 2000|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022033727/https://www.nme.com/news/music/suede-184-1392698|url-status=live}}</ref> For the entirety of 2000, Suede retreated from the public eye, playing only one gig in [[Reykjavik, Iceland]]. The band premiered several new songs that would eventually appear on the final album.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/suede/4854|title=Geysers!|work=NME|date=23 October 2000|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=7 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507223238/http://www.nme.com/news/suede/4854|url-status=live}}</ref>