Bloodsports (album)

Bloodsports
Studio album by Suede
Released 18 March 2013
Recorded 2012
Genre
Length 39:46
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Ed Buller
Suede chronology
The Best of Suede
(2010)The Best of Suede2010		 Bloodsports
(2013)		 Night Thoughts
(2016)Night Thoughts2016
Singles from Bloodsports
  1. "It Starts and Ends with You"
    Released: 4 February 2013
  2. "Hit Me"
    Released: 27 May 2013
  3. "For the Strangers"
    Released: 21 October 2013

Bloodsports is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede. It was released on 18 March 2013, via Warner Bros. Records. It is their first studio album since A New Morning in 2002.

Background and production

Frontman Brett Anderson commented that the album would sound like a cross between Dog Man Star and Coming Up.[3] He stated that Bloodsports is "about lust, it's about the chase, it's about the endless carnal game of love. It was possibly the hardest we've ever made but certainly the most satisfying".[4]

The band performed new material in 2011, most of which got scrapped when they went into the studio with Ed Buller, the producer of their first three albums.[5]

Release

In January 2013, Suede released a free download of opening track "Barriers". The first single proper, "It Starts and Ends with You", followed in February.[4][6] Second single "Hit Me" was released in May[7] and a third single, "For the Strangers", was released in October. A 7-inch of "Barriers" marked Record Store Day on 20 April, the studio version of "Animal Nitrate" its b-side.[8]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash8/10[11]
The Daily Telegraph[12]
Digital Spy[13]
The Guardian[14]
Metro[15]
musicOMH[2]
NME7/10[16]
Pitchfork7.6/10[17]
PopMatters8/10[18]

Bloodsports has been very well-received by critics, their most acclaimed album since Coming Up in 1996. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews."[9]

Commercial performance

Bloodsports debuted on the Official UK Albums Chart at number 10, making it the band's first top 10 album since Head Music in 1999.[19]

Accolades

Bloodsports has been included in many Best Albums of 2013 lists including:

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
ABC News US The 50 Best Albums of 2013 2013 29
AllMusic US Best of 2013 – Top 50 Albums[20] 2013 N/A
PopMatters US The 75 Best Albums of the Year[20] 2013 57
Q UK 50 Albums of the Year[20] 2013 22
The Quietus UK Albums of the Year[20] 2013 42
Rough Trade UK Top 100 Albums of the Year 2013 67
Under the Radar US Top 125 Albums of 2013[20] 2013 23

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Barriers"Brett Anderson, Richard Oakes, Neil Codling3:42
2."Snowblind"Anderson, Oakes4:03
3."It Starts and Ends with You"Anderson, Codling3:51
4."Sabotage"Anderson, Codling3:45
5."For the Strangers"Anderson, Oakes, Codling4:12
6."Hit Me"Anderson, Oakes, Codling4:03
7."Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away"Anderson, Oakes4:12
8."What Are You Not Telling Me?"Anderson, Oakes, Codling3:12
9."Always"Anderson, Oakes, Codling, Simon Gilbert, Mat Osman4:42
10."Faultlines"Anderson, Oakes, Codling4:05

Personnel

Suede
Other personnel

References

  1. ↑ Lakhani, R. (5 July 2013). "The best albums of 2013 (so far)". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Matusavage, Philip (12 March 2013). "Suede – Bloodsports". musicOMH. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Cooper, Leonie (30 November 2012). "Suede Unveil New Album and Live Show Countdown". NME. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Hart, Tina. "Suede to Release First New Material in 10 Years". MusicWeek. 7 January 2013.
  5. ↑ Neighbour, Flora . "Suede Ditch All Material Recorded for New Album". Gigwise. 11 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Author unknown. "Suede Reveal Tracklisting For New Album Bloodsports". nme. 16 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Suede Announce Release of New Single "Hit Me"
  8. ↑ Barriers/Animal Nitrate 7″ – Exclusive Record Store Day 2013
  9. 1 2 "Bloodsports – Suede". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Erlewine , Thomas. "The London Suede / Suede – Bloodsports". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Mayall, Kieran (12 March 2013). "Suede – Bloodsports". Clash. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Brown, Helen (8 March 2013). "Suede, Bloodsports,album review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (1 March 2013). "Suede: 'Bloodsports' – Album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Hann, Michael (14 March 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. ↑ Haider, Arwa (15 March 2013). "Suede repackage their Britpop highs to sound classic and vital on Bloodsports". Metro. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Hewitt, Ben (18 March 2013). "Suede – Bloodsports". NME. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  17. ↑ Stuart Berman (22 March 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  18. ↑ Ramirez, Aj (18 March 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports". Popmatters. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  19. ↑ Author unknown. "Recently reunited indie rockers Suede are back with their first Top 10 album in almost 14 years". Official Charts Company. 24 March 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bloodsports end of year lists". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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