Ex-suede Mates Form The Tears

Former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler and Suede singer Brett Anderson have joined forces for a new project called the Tears, which also includes drummer Mako Sakomoto and bassist Nathan Fisher. The group, whose name is taken from a line in Phillip Larkin's poem "Femmes Damnees," is currently recording its as-yet-untitled debut album in London for Independiente Records.

Anderson and Butler began writing together last May and completed 15 songs in that period. It's unclear how many of those tracks may make the cut for the upcoming record, for which a release date has yet to be announced.

Last month, Anderson dropped by the Suede message board to reveal the album was "shaping up to be a truly special record. Usually by this point in making any album I go through a period of doubt about its quality but this time the songs are just getting better. My drive, direction and focus, which became clouded towards the end of my work with Suede, are all back with a vengeance and both me and Bernard are excited about being back in the game."

Butler left Suede during the recording of the 1994 album "Dog Man Star" and went on to release two solo albums, the last being 2000's "Friends And Lovers." As for Suede, the band went on hiatus after releasing the 2002 studio album "A New Morning."

Anderson is also working on a solo album, which he characterizes as "pretty much finished. It has turned out to be a dark, melancholic affair, kind of 'Brett Noir.'"