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.
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. 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".
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.Neighbour, Flora . "Suede Ditch All Material Recorded for New Album". Gigwise. 11 May 2012.
Release In January 2013, Suede released a free download of opening track "Barriers". The lead single, "It Starts and Ends with You", followed in February. Second single "Hit Me" was released 27 May. Third single "For the Strangers" was released in October on the same day the band released The Vinyl Collection, a box set of the band's six studio albums and b-side collection on vinyl. Bloodsports debuted on the Official UK Albums Chart at number 10, on first-week sales of 10,453 copies. It went on to sell 22,410 units after 12 weeks. A 7-inch double a-side of "Barriers"/"Animal Nitrate" was released 20 April on Record Store Day.
Critical reception
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".
Year-end lists 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 AlbumsBest of 2013. AllMusic. 2013. 2013 N/A PopMatters US The 75 Best Albums of the YearThe 75 Best Albums of the 2013. PopMatters. 2013. 2013 57 Q UK 50 Albums of the Year"Q Magazine's '50 LPs of 2013' List; Arctic Monkeys top it". BrooklynVegan. 2013. 2013 22 The Quietus UK Albums of the Year"Albums of the Year 2013". The Quietus. 2013. 2013 42 Rough Trade UK Top 100 Albums of the Year"Rough Trade's Top LPs of 2013". BrooklynVegan. 2013. 2013 67 Under the Radar US Top 125 Albums of 2013"Top 125 Albums of 2013". Under the Radar. 2013. 2013 23
Track listing
Personnel
Suede Brett Anderson – vocals Richard Oakes – guitars Simon Gilbert – drums Mat Osman – electric bass Neil Codling – synthesisers, guitars
Technical Ed Buller – production, engineering Andy Hughes – engineering Paul-Édouard Laurendeau – engineering Joel M. Peters – engineering assistance Andy Wallace – mixing Paul Suarez – Pro Tools engineering Howie Weinberg – mastering Dan Gerbarg – mastering
Artwork Jonathan Baron – cover Matthew Holroyd – cover Brett Anderson – cover Mat Osman – cover Blommers/Schumm – artwork photography Roger Sargent – band photography Studio-Baron – design
Charts + Chart performance for Bloodsports Chart (2013) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart. 181
References
External links
Bloodsports at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)