| Autofiction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 September 2022 (2022-9-16) | |||
| Recorded | 2020–2022 | |||
| Studio | Konk, London | |||
| Length | 45:30 | |||
| Label | BMG | |||
| Producer | Ed Buller | |||
| Suede chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Autofiction | ||||
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Autofiction is the ninthstudio album by Englishalternative rock bandSuede. The album was released on 16 September 2022 via BMG to critical acclaim. It was their first release in four years, following 2018'sThe Blue Hour and their first sinceNight Thoughts in 2016 to feature longtime producerEd Buller. The album was created as a stylistic distinction from their previous reunion work, which had taken on a more orchestral and cinematic scope.[1]
In November 2020 it was announced that Suede were in the process of recording a ninth studio album. During an interview on the anniversary ofComing Up, lead singer Brett Anderson described the new album's sound as "nasty, brutish and short". Eighteen months after the initial announcement, on 23 May 2022, it was announced that the title of the new album wasAutofiction and that it would be released via BGM on 16 September the same year. Alongside this, the title of the album's lead single was revealed to be "She Still Leads Me On". The track, inspired by Anderson's late mother, debuted later that night at a concert in Brussels and was live-streamed to fans via the band's YouTube channel.The album's creation followed the release of Anderson's memoirs,Coal Black Mornings in 2018 andAfternoons with the Blinds Drawn the following year. This informed the lyrics and themes of the album, leading it to have an autobiographical focus. On the title "Autofiction", Anderson stated "Autofiction is a genre that's part memoir, part fiction, to a certain extent, you're manipulating the truth. No art is 100pc truth. Even a memoir in which a writer thinks he's just delivering the nuts and bolts of his life is still making decisions about what they leave out and what they decide to include. At the other end of the spectrum, The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate fantasy book, with its wizards and goblins, but it still contains human truths."[2]
The album was intended to be recorded live in small venues with the band performing under the assumed name "Crushed Kid" in order to bring the band's live sound for the record. However, these plans were put on hold due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[2] The album was primarily recorded in London atAir Studios, Konk, Sarm Music Village and Toneville, with additional recording done at RMV Studios, Stockholm, and Studio28, Bangkok. The album was recorded and mixed with a live sound in mind, featuring few overdubs and additional musicians in an attempt to replicate a live performance.
Brett Anderson stated that: "Every record is a reaction to the last record to some extent. You don't want to just keep going in the same direction. I wanted to come back and make something that felt a little bit more raw, a little bit more angry, a little bit more nasty. 'Autofiction' is our punk record, and we're fucking proud of it."[3]
Autofiction was released 16 September 2022 and charted at No.2 on theUK Albums Chart, with sales of 14,038.[4] The band thus secured their ninth Top 10 album and highest-charting release since 1999'sHead Music.[4]
In November 2022 'The Only Way I Can Love You' was added to BBC Radio 2's playlist and 'Personality Disorder' to the Radio 6 playlist.
On 8 November 2023 Suede announced 'Autofiction: Expanded', a 3-disc CD box-set.[5] Disc 1 contains the studio album, disc 2 contains 6 b-sides and bonus tracks, including previously unreleased 'There Is No Me If There Is No You', and disc 3 contains the full Autofiction tracklisting recorded live across the band's sold out March 2023 UK tour. This re-issue was released on 8 December 2023.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.0/10[6] |
| Metacritic | 85/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Clash | 8/10[9] |
| The Daily Telegraph |  [10] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| Mojo | [12] |
| NME | [13] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[14] |
| Record Collector | [15] |
| The Times | [16] |
| Uncut | 8/10[17] |
Autofiction received positive reviews from music critics upon its release. AtMetacritic, which assigns aweighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 85, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "Universal acclaim".[7]
Among the positive reviewers was Bella Savignano forClash. In the article, Savignano called the album "simultaneously forward-looking and nostalgic. It pays homage to the callow naivety of the young band they once were in its thrashing form and gritty sentiment, but with the sonic maturation and profound lyricism of a group who has paid their dues. Though the days of the jangly, innocuous Britpop they were so integral to establishing are gone, Suede haven't lost their roots – they've just re-established them for a new era."[9] Similarly, Phil Mongredien fromThe Guardian claimed, "there's barely a misstep in Autofiction's 45-minute running time," and that it was "A late-career triumph."[11] Victoria Segal also complimented the album in the review forMojo, stating that "Autofiction builds its own emotional momentum as Suede, once again, write new chapters of their story."[12]
In the review forNME, Andrew Tendell wrote that the album, "finds the indie greats getting back in the garage to make a racket. This is a band with a lust for life."[13] InRecord Collector, Kevin Harley stated that it was, "An album that taps into Suede's galvanic guitar-rock drama without falling prey to that dread declaration of stagnation, the back-to-basics album. Perhaps deceptively, Suede's approach here is forward-thinking."[15] Concluding the review forAllMusic, editorStephen Thomas Erlewine praised the band's performance; "The last time Suede sounded this muscular and urgent they were still in the process of discovering themselves. Here, the quintet know how to deploy not just their strengths but their distinctive blend of nervy post-punk, overheated glam, and yearning poetry to make an album that sounds full, complete, and utterly alive."[8]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums Of 2022 | 43 | |
| Louder Than War | Albums of The Year 2022 – The Top 100 | 1 | |
| Mojo | The 50 Best Albums Of 2022 | 6 | |
| musicOMH | Top 50 Albums Of 2022 | 1 | |
| The Quietus | Top 100 Albums Of 2022 | 17 | |
| Record Collector | Best New Albums Of 2022 | 7 | |
| Uncut | 75 Best Albums Of 2022 | 54 | |
| Under the Radar | Top 100 Albums Of 2022 | 29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Still Leads Me On" | 4:09 | |
| 2. | "Personality Disorder" |
| 4:00 |
| 3. | "15 Again" |
| 3:25 |
| 4. | "The Only Way I Can Love You" |
| 4:08 |
| 5. | "That Boy on the Stage" |
| 2:36 |
| 6. | "Drive Myself Home" |
| 4:30 |
| 7. | "Black Ice" |
| 2:45 |
| 8. | "Shadow Self" |
| 3:34 |
| 9. | "It's Always the Quiet Ones" |
| 4:12 |
| 10. | "What Am I Without You?" |
| 6:18 |
| 11. | "Turn Off Your Brain and Yell" |
| 5:54 |
| Total length: | 45:30 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Still Waiting" |
| 2:50 |
| 13. | "The Sadness in You, the Sadness in Me" |
| 4:28 |
| 14. | "Days Like Dead Moths" |
| 3:42 |
| 15. | "The Prey" |
| 3:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "You Don't Know Me" |
| 3:33 |
Autofiction Expanded
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Still Leads Me On" | 4:09 | |
| 2. | "Personality Disorder" |
| 4:00 |
| 3. | "15 Again" |
| 3:25 |
| 4. | "The Only Way I Can Love You" |
| 4:08 |
| 5. | "That Boy on the Stage" |
| 2:36 |
| 6. | "Drive Myself Home" |
| 4:30 |
| 7. | "Black Ice" |
| 2:45 |
| 8. | "Shadow Self" |
| 3:34 |
| 9. | "It's Always the Quiet Ones" |
| 4:12 |
| 10. | "What Am I Without You?" |
| 6:18 |
| 11. | "Turn Off Your Brain and Yell" |
| 5:54 |
| Total length: | 45:30 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Sadness In You, The Sadness In Me" |
| 4:31 |
| 2. | "Days Like Dead Moths" |
| 3:42 |
| 3. | "The Prey" |
| 3:34 |
| 4. | "You Don't Know Me" |
| 3:33 |
| 5. | "There Is No Me If There Is No You" |
| 3:08 |
| 6. | "Still Waiting" |
| 2:52 |
| Total length: | 21:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Still Leads Me On" (De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, 25/3/23) |
| 4:31 |
| 2. | "Personality Disorder" (O2 Academy, Leeds, 30/3/23) |
| 3:59 |
| 3. | "15 Again" (O2 Academy, Leeds, 30/3/23) |
| 3:28 |
| 4. | "The Only Way I Can Love You" (O2 Academy, Leeds, 30/3/23) |
| 3:55 |
| 5. | "That Boy on the Stage" (Rock City, Nottingham, 10/3/23) |
| 2:36 |
| 6. | "Drive Myself Home" (The Forum, Bath, 3/3/23) |
| 4:15 |
| 7. | "Black Ice" (O2 Guildhall, Southampton, 24/3/23) |
| 3:23 |
| 8. | "Shadow Self" (O2 Academy, Leeds, 30/3/23) |
| 3:37 |
| 9. | "It's Always the Quiet Ones" (Albert Hall, Manchester, 9/3/23) |
| 4:18 |
| 10. | "What Am I Without You?" (Rock City, Nottingham, 10/3/23) |
| 6:14 |
| 11. | "Turn Off Your Brain and Yell" (De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, 25/3/23) |
| 6:07 |
| Total length: | 46:27 | ||
Suede
| Technical
| Additional musicians
|
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[26] | 36 |
| Australian Physical Albums (ARIA)[26] | 42 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] | 34 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] | 15 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] | 15 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[30] | 15 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] | 11 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] | 23 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[33] | 108 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] | 20 |
| Irish Albums (OCC)[35] | 26 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] | 88 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[37] | 29 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] | 3 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] | 20 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[40] | 41 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] | 49 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[42] | 2 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[43] | 1 |
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