| The Blue Hour | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 September 2018 (2018-09-21) | |||
| Recorded | 2017–2018 | |||
| Studio | Assault & Battery,London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:36 | |||
| Label | Warner Music UK | |||
| Producer | Alan Moulder | |||
| Suede chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Blue Hour | ||||
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The Blue Hour is the eighthstudio album by Englishalternative rock bandSuede. The album was released on 21 September 2018.[1][2]
It was the first Suede album sinceA New Morning not to be produced by longtime producerEd Buller, and the first to be produced byAlan Moulder.[3] This is their final album to be released underWarner Music.
The concept forThe Blue Hour began in May 2016, when lead singerBrett Anderson, guitaristRichard Oakes and keyboardistNeil Codling wrote the song "Mistress"; a song about a boy's realisation of his father's affair.[4] The band then spent eighteen months composing the rest before recording it in six weeks from September to October 2017 at Assault & Battery studios in London with new producerAlan Moulder.[4] The band finished the recording of the album in February 2018, shortly after the recording of orchestra sessions was finished, later finished the mixing in April, announcing the album, release date, tracklisting and artwork at the end of that month along with their testing press of the album atAbbey Road Studios.
The album was announced on 28 April 2018 with the mysterious title, #Suede8 through theirInstagram, before they revealed the official title on 30 April 2018 via a video trailer on their Instagram andYouTube, along with their 2018 UK and Europe Tour.[5]
Just over a week before its release, the band uploaded their final trailer with the backsong "Flytipping" through their social media and YouTube.
The first promotional single, "The Invisibles", was released on 3 June 2018. Second single, "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You" followed on 12 July. The third, "Life Is Golden" was released on 15 August; its accompanying music video comprises footage ofUkrainianghost town,Pripyat. Fourth single, "Flytipping" was issued on 14 September. The accompanying music video of "Wastelands" was uploaded on 29 October through their officialYouTube channel, and featured the free-runner Robbie Griffith.
The album was released in a number of different versions:
TheOfficial Charts Company reported midweek sales of 9,654.[6] It had sold 10,986 units by the end of the week.[7]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10[8] |
| Metacritic | 77/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [10] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| The Independent | [12] |
| The Irish Times | [13] |
| Mojo | [14] |
| NME | [15] |
| Q | [16] |
| Record Collector | [17] |
| The Times | [18] |
| Uncut | 8/10[19] |
The Blue Hour was released to positive reviews from critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,The Blue Hour has anaverage score of 77 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]
The Blue Hour charted at number five on theUK Albums Chart, which is the highest-charting album by the band sinceHead Music in 1999.[20] The album has sold 27,396 units as of July 2021 according to the Official Charts Company.[20]
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drowned in Sound | Top 15 Albums of 2018 | 13 | |
| Gigwise | Top 51 Albums of 2018 | 10 | |
| The Independent | The 40 Best Albums of 2018 | 35 | |
| Mojo | The 75 Best Albums of 2018 | 35 | |
| musicOMH | Top 50 Albums of 2018 | 5 | |
| The Quietus | Top 100 Albums of 2018 | 4 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "As One" | 4:10 | |
| 2. | "Wastelands" |
| 5:31 |
| 3. | "Mistress" |
| 3:23 |
| 4. | "Beyond the Outskirts" |
| 4:06 |
| 5. | "Chalk Circles" |
| 2:04 |
| 6. | "Cold Hands" |
| 3:16 |
| 7. | "Life Is Golden" |
| 3:57 |
| 8. | "Roadkill" |
| 2:06 |
| 9. | "Tides" |
| 4:08 |
| 10. | "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You" |
| 4:24 |
| 11. | "Dead Bird" |
| 0:26 |
| 12. | "All the Wild Places" |
| 3:15 |
| 13. | "The Invisibles" |
| 4:09 |
| 14. | "Flytipping" |
| 6:41 |
| Total length: | 51:36 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Blue Hour instrumental" | 51:36 |
| Total length: | 51:36 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Manipulation" | 2:05 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Blue Hour album band's commentary" | |
| 2. | "The Blue Hour Trailer" | 0:19 |
| 3. | "The Invisibles" (promo video) | 4:14 |
| 4. | "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You" (promo video) | 4:30 |
Suede
Technical
| Spoken Word
Orchestra
|
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] | 58 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] | 29 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[30] | 49 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] | 52 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32] | 37 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] | 32 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[34] | 37 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[35] | 22 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] | 40 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[37] | 58 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[38] | 38 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] | 7 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40] | 11 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41] | 48 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] | 44 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[43] | 5 |
