Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Austin Chronicle
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	B+
The Guardian
Los Angeles Daily News
NME	8/10
Pitchfork	7.9/10
Select	4/5
SPIN	8/10

Coming Up is the third album by English alternative rock band Suede, released on 2 September 1996 through Nude Records. It was the band's first album since the departure of guitarist Bernard Butler, who was replaced by Richard Oakes. Also added to the band was keyboardist Neil Codling. The album was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Prize. A commercial and critical success, Coming Up was the album that introduced Suede to a worldwide audience, in places such as Europe, Canada and Asia.

After the departure of guitarist Bernard Butler and the lack of commercial success with Dog Man Star and its singles, Suede were being somewhat dismissed by the British music press. Determined to bring Suede back into the mainstream, frontman Brett Anderson decided that the sound of the new album would be the complete opposite of Dog Man Star. "I think the next album will be quite simple, actually. I'd really like to write a straightforward pop album. Just ten hits."

The guitarist to replace Butler was the 17-year-old Richard Oakes, who beat 500 other applicants for the role. Instead of applying for the job like everyone else, Oakes was auditioned on the strength of an impromptu demo tape he sent to the Suede fan club. Despite Oakes's smooth integration into his new role and the band's rejuvenated spirit, Anderson was tired of touring and was keen to get back in the studio with his new songwriting partner. He recalled: "it was becoming really not much fun touring an album that wasn't made by the band." At the time Suede were fatigued with being on tour, a feeling, which was reflected in the b-side, "Have You Ever Been This Low".

"It was a chance to do everything Dog Man Star didn't and make a bright, communicative album. It's like a pendulum: you go one way and then the other. I really wanted to make a straight-up pop record. We were listening to a lot of ’60s pop at the time and were very much inspired by the classic three-and-a-half-minute singles."

To prepare for its recording, the band had immersed themselves in T. Rex's 1972 album The Slider and its successor, Tanx. Long-time producer Ed Buller would be producing the album again. In an interview on the eve of the album's release, Anderson stated: "I wanted it to be a complete turnover from the last album, which was very dark and dank... I wanted it to be communicative and understandable." Bass player Mat Osman recalls how Buller was keen on making the album simple. "He was really keen on using all those devices: the big repeated end, the handclaps, the straightforward chorus, make it big and obvious." Two songs which made it onto Coming Up had already been written in the early days of Suede. "Lazy" and "By the Sea" were two of Anderson's own compositions. "By the Sea" was actually written when Suede were recording their first album, which is why the songs opening line is strikingly similar to "So Young".

...
Wikipedia