Bloodsports (album)

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.

Not to be confused with Blood sport.

Bloodsports
Studio album by
Suede
Released18 March 2013
Recorded2012
Genre
Length39:46
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerEd Buller
Suede chronology
The Best of Suede
(2010)		 Bloodsports
(2013)		 Night Thoughts
(2016)
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

The album was the first since Coming Up to be produced by their longtime producer Ed Buller, and also the first album to feature keyboardist Neil Codling since his departure in 2001.

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. Bloodsports debuted on the Official UK Albums Chart at number 10,[8] on first-week sales of 10,453 copies.[9] It went on to sell 22,410 units after 12 weeks.[9] A 7-inch double a-side of "Barriers"/"Animal Nitrate" was released 20 April on Record Store Day.[10]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[11]
Metacritic80/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The Daily Telegraph[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Independent[16]
Mojo[17]
NME7/10[18]
Pitchfork7.6/10[19]
Q[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
Uncut7/10[22]

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."[12]

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[23] 2013 29
AllMusic US Best of 2013 – Top 50 Albums[24] 2013 N/A
PopMatters US The 75 Best Albums of the Year[24] 2013 57
Q UK 50 Albums of the Year[24] 2013 22
The Quietus UK Albums of the Year[24] 2013 42
Rough Trade UK Top 100 Albums of the Year 2013 67
Under the Radar US Top 125 Albums of 2013[24] 2013 23

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Barriers"
3:42
2."Snowblind"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:03
3."It Starts and Ends with You"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
3:51
4."Sabotage"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
3:45
5."For the Strangers"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
4:12
6."Hit Me"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
4:03
7."Sometimes I Feel I'll Float Away"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:12
8."What Are You Not Telling Me?"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
3:12
9."Always"
4:42
10."Faultlines"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
4:05
iTunes deluxe edition and Australia CD bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Dawn Chorus"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:03
12."Howl"
  • Anderson
  • Osman
3:35
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Dawn Chorus"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:03
12."Nothing Can Stop Us"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
3:35
Box set bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Dawn Chorus"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:03
12."No Holding Back"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
3:52

Personnel
gollark: Tables work that way, but not strings!
gollark: That's... a small fission reactor's worth.
gollark: 4kRF/t is an unreasonably large amount for it to draw, in any case.
gollark: Sure?
gollark: Well, it takes RF, you can use a creative something or other.

References
  1. Lakhani, R. (5 July 2013). "The best albums of 2013 (so far)". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  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. 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. "Recently reunited indie rockers Suede are back with their first Top 10 album in almost 14 years". Official Charts Company. 24 March 2013.
  9. Williams, Paul (21 June 2013). "Going It Alone". Music Week: 14–16.
  10. Newall, Phil (21 March 2013). "Full list of Record Store Day 2013 releases unveiled…". louderthanwar.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  11. "Bloodsports by Suede reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  12. "Reviews for Bloodsports by Suede". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  13. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bloodsports – Suede". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  14. Brown, Helen (8 March 2013). "Suede, Bloodsports, album review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. Hann, Michael (14 March 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  16. Gill, Andy (15 March 2013). "Album review: Suede, Bloodsports (Warner Music Group)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  17. "Suede: Bloodsports". Mojo (233): 96. April 2013.
  18. Hewitt, Ben (18 March 2013). "Suede – 'Bloodsports'". NME. Archived from the original on 21 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  19. Berman, Stuart (22 March 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  20. Segal, Victoria (April 2013). "Brett, the Devil You Know". Q (321): 98.
  21. Sheffield, Rob (20 June 2013). "Suede: Bloodsports". Rolling Stone: 72.
  22. O'Connell, Sharon (3 April 2013). "Suede – Bloodsports". Uncut. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  23. Raible, Allan (30 December 2013). "The Year in Review: The 50 Best Albums of 2013". American Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  24. "Bloodsports end of year lists". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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