merely disguise the lack of hooks that distinguished the band's earlier music." Likewise, Entertainment Weekly were less enthused. Chuck Eddy said: "on ornate gothic ballads, the band that used to be Suede comes off affected and dull." Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times expressed similar views, saying: "Suede's 1993 debut held promise, but this one looks backward instead of forward." However, on the contrary some viewed the album as a step forward with the band breaking out of its comfort zone. Simon Reynolds of The New York Times felt that the band "soars to new heights of swoony hysteria," in contrast to the glam rock showcased on the first album. He added: "Dog Man Star deserves attention, if only for its absurd ambition." Echoing feelings of pushing boundaries, Jonathan Bernstein of Spin concluded his positive review stating: "this is a group capable of far surpassing its perceived limitations." Barry Walters of The Advocate called it “an ambitious beast of an album;” and recognised the polarised opinion it may generate, saying: “For some Dog Man Star will be simply too intense. For others this will be rock album of the year.” Dog Man Star featured in many end-of-year lists with Spin, Vox, NME, Rockdelux and Select including it in their top ten. Legacy The album featured in many best-of lists throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Some critics would designate it as a masterpiece into the new century, although it was somewhat overlooked by many around the time of release, and in the years that followed, one NME writer said it was "stealthily erased from history." Following Suede's disbandment late 2003, some critics acknowledged this period of the band's history. In September 2003, shortly before Suede disbanded, the album featured in Stylus Magazines 'On Second Thought' feature, which aims at providing a fresh look at unjustly ignored or misunderstood albums. The magazine’s contributor Jon Monks said, "Suede will never make a record this good again, whether it is because Butler left or merely it was a such a perfect time for Brett to be writing, they have failed to make anything nearly so encompassing as this." In a 2006 retrospective review, Michael Furman of Tiny Mix Tapes, while comparing Suede to Radiohead, Oasis and Manic Street Preachers, all bands who released popular records around this time, said: "It is Suede's Dog Man Star, however, that often slips through the recollections of