Suede have told NME that they are already “deep into” work on their next album, which they are describing as their “anarcho-punk” record.

The band spoke to us on the red carpet at the Mercury Prize 2026 in Newcastle, where their 10th album ‘Antidepressants‘ was among the shortlisted releases, alongside work by Jade, Kojey Radical, Nia Archives and Florence & The Machine. However, the award ultimately went to Raye for ‘This Music May Contain Hope‘. Before taking to the stage to perform ‘Dancing With The Europeans’, the alt-rock veterans admitted they had not expected to win, particularly as they had already claimed the Mercury Prize in 1993 for their iconic self-titled debut. That said, their memories of the evening are somewhat hazy.

“The thing is, we didn’t think we were going to win and you didn’t have to perform if you won, so we started partying quite early that night,” said bassist Mat Osman of their big night in ’93. I can vaguely remember giving quite an incoherent speech. After that, everything is a bit of a blur.”

Drummer Simon Gilbert remembered “drinking most of the bar that night”, while frontman Brett Anderson recalled being booed with particular fondness. “I thought that was great,” he admitted. “I like a bit of antagonism. In the early ‘90s, all the bands hated each other. I liked that.”

Was there a more affectionate atmosphere at the 2026 Mercury Prize?

“Maybe it’s because we’re old now, and people aren’t intimidated by you because you’re the elder statesman,” Anderson replied. “It’s a different role we have now. That’s as nice as well, but in the early ‘90s it was funny.”

Given that the Mercury Prize celebrates the art of making a great album, and Suede have produced several acclaimed records themselves, we asked what they believe makes a classic LP so special.

“That’s a huge question and it’s unanswerable, but I do know that it’s probably my biggest obsession in life: creating albums,” replied Anderson. “It’s always something that I’ve thought about. I’ve always loved the experience of listening to other people’s albums. I always listen to them as a whole piece, I love putting a record on: the first side, the first song, the middle, track seven (which is very important), the second to last song, the closing song – they’re all really, really key positions on an album.”

Anderson went on: “Writing an album is very different from just writing a single track, writing a couple of tracks or an EP or something like that. You have to have gear changes, but at the same time, the album has to take you somewhere. All of my favourite records, they take you somewhere and they leave you there. It’s not necessarily a nice place to be, but you’re there. Something like [Joy Division’s] ‘Unknown Pleasures’, it takes you to this dank, dark world and it leaves you in that place. Something like [Brian Eno’s] ‘Music For Airports’ takes you to a different place, [Sex Pistols’] ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’ takes you somewhere, and they leave you in this world.”

The singer added: “That’s what I’ve always wanted to do with our records as well. The creation of an album is a truly great artform. Probably the greatest artform of the 20th Century, and I think it’s fantastic that the Mercury recognises the discipline of making an album specifically.”

It seems Suede supporters may not have to wait too long for another album. The band revealed that they are already “deep into” writing their 11th record, which is expected to complete another musical “triptych” following the punk-inspired ‘Autofiction‘ and post-punk ‘Antidepressants’.

“It seems to be kind of along those lines but maybe a bit more anthemic,” said guitarist Neil Codling. “We’re trying to make song-based stuff with simple, anthemic songs but kind of along the same lines as the last two records. We’re deep into writing and hopefully we’ll start recording soon.”

Anderson explained: “So the record we’re making now is the third in the trilogy. It’s going to be another punk-based record. I don’t quite know what I’m going to call it yet – well actually, I do know what I’m going to call it – but I don’t know how I’m going to define it yet. The first one [‘Autofiction’] I said was our ‘punk record’, the second one [‘Antidepressants’] I said was our post-punk record, the third one I’m going to call our ‘something’ punk record.”

Could it be future punk? Anderson proposed “Anarcho-punk?”, while Gilbert suggested “steam punk”.

“When we started writing it, it was a bit like anarcho-punk actually,” Anderson admitted. “That’s what I thought was the parallel, but I don’t know yet. I think it’s important to message very broadly and say that it’s a genre because it helps people understand these things. When you’re talking about a record, when you’re messaging a record, it’s got to be in very simplistic terms. It’s a very broad brush, it’s a very blunt instrument..

“Obviously we didn’t just make a punk record, obviously we didn’t just make a post-punk record, obviously this won’t be an anarcho-punk record, but it’s a broad place for people to position it.”

When asked about the themes explored in the album's lyrics, Anderson revealed that “there are a lot of songs about tribes and belonging on it”. Suede's own community could get an early taste of the new material when they head out on a co-headline UK arena tour with Manic Street Preachers next week. The band hinted that they might introduce one or two new songs during the shows.

Did they have a message for the Manics, or perhaps some friendly competitive words to encourage the Welsh band to bring their best?

“No, it’s difficult actually because they’re just watching sport all the time,” replied Isman. “They’re glued to the darts and the rugby so they don’t really care!

“We don’t need to do it via you because they’re lovely boys and we always have such fun being on tour with them,” said Anderson. “We’ve known then since 1994 or something like that. It’s an interesting package because we’re similar but not too similar. There’s an interesting overlap with Suede and the Manics.”

Gilbert added: “It’s like going on holiday with your mates.”

Suede and Manic Street Preachers’ joint UK arena tour begins at Glasgow OVO Arena on Wednesday October 28. Visit here for tickets and further information.