Blue Weekend

Blue Weekend is the third studio album by English rock band Wolf Alice, released on 4 June 2021 through Dirty Hit. Blue Weekend was preceded by four singles—"The Last Man on Earth", "Smile", "No Hard Feelings" and "How Can I Make It OK?". The album received acclaim from music critics, with many naming it the band's best work, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2021.

Blue Weekend
Studio album by
Wolf Alice
Released4 June 2021
Studio
  • ICP (Brussels)
  • Iguana (London)
Genre
Length40:08
LabelDirty Hit
ProducerMarkus Dravs
Wolf Alice chronology
Visions of a Life
(2017)		 Blue Weekend
(2021)
Singles from Blue Weekend
  1. "The Last Man on Earth"
    Released: 24 February 2021
  2. "Smile"
    Released: 20 April 2021
  3. "No Hard Feelings"
    Released: 11 May 2021
  4. "How Can I Make It OK?"
    Released: 3 June 2021

Release

On 24 February 2021, Wolf Alice announced the album's title and initial release date of 11 June, alongside the release of lead single "The Last Man on Earth".[6] On 3 May 2021, the band announced that they would be bringing the album's release earlier by one week, to 4 June.[7]

Promotion

Singles

Blue Weekend was preceded by four singles. "The Last Man on Earth" was released on 24 February 2021 as the album's lead single.[8] It was premiered by Annie Mac on her eponymous BBC Radio 1 Radio program, where Ellie Rowsell and Theo Ellis from the band co-hosted with her. The music video was released on YouTube an hour after Mac's radio show started.[8]

"Smile" was released on 20 April 2021 as the album's second single. It was premiered the same way as its predecessor.[9]

"No Hard Feelings" was released on 11 May 2021, an hour earlier than the previous two on Zane Lowe's Apple Music show, with the music video again released on YouTube an hour afterwards.[10] "How Can I Make It OK?" was released on 3 June 2021 as the fourth and last single of the album along with a music video on YouTube.[11]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[12]
Metacritic91/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Classic Rock9/10[15]
The Daily Telegraph[1]
DIY[16]
The Guardian[17]
The Independent[5]
Mojo[18]
NME[19]
Pitchfork7.2/10[20]
The Scotsman[21]

Blue Weekend received acclaim from music critics, many of whom described it as their best album.[22] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of 100, the album received an average score of 91, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[13] It was ranked as the third highest-rated album of 2021 on the website at the time of release.[23]

Blue Weekend was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2021, and multiple NME Awards in 2022.[24][25]

Accolades
Blue Weekend on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Albumism The 100 Best Albums of 2021
3
[26]
The AU Review The 40 Best Albums of 2021
3
[27]
DIY DIY’S Best Albums Of 2021
1
[28]
Far Out Magazine The 50 Best Albums of 2021
6
[29]
Gaffa Her er årets 20 bedste internationale album
4
[30]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2021
2
[31]
Live4ever Live4ever’s Best Of 2021: The Albums
7
[32]
NME The 50 best albums of 2021
3
[33]
Nothing but Hope and Passion NBHAP’s 50 Best Albums Of 2021
2
[34]
OOR Dit Zijn De 20 Beste Albums Van 2021
7
[35]
Riff Magazine The 108 best albums of 2021
8
[36]
Rough Trade Blog UK Albums of the Year 2021
8
[37]
The Skinny The Skinny's Top Ten Albums of 2021
7
[38]

Commercial performance

Blue Weekend debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 36,182 copies sold in its first week, becoming Wolf Alice's first number-one album.[39] It was the biggest-selling album of 2021 in UK independent record shops.[40]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ellie Rowsell, Joff Oddie, Theo Ellis and Joel Amey

Blue Weekend track listing[41]
No.TitleLength
1."The Beach"2:35
2."Delicious Things"5:04
3."Lipstick on the Glass"4:07
4."Smile"3:16
5."Safe from Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)"2:32
6."How Can I Make It OK?"4:47
7."Play the Greatest Hits"2:27
8."Feeling Myself"4:43
9."The Last Man on Earth"4:21
10."No Hard Feelings"2:35
11."The Beach II"3:39
Total length:40:08
Japanese edition bonus track [42]
No.TitleLength
12."Smile" (Demo)3:10
Total length:43:21
Record Store Day 2021 edition bonus track [43]
No.TitleLength
12."Time Is Not A Straight Line" (Demo)2:35
Total length:42:43

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blue Weekend.[44]

Wolf Alice

Additional musicians

Technical
  • Markus Dravs – production
  • Iain Berryman – engineering, additional production
  • Joel Workman – engineering assistance (all tracks); additional engineering (track 9)
  • Charlie Andrew – vocal production (track 3); additional vocal production (tracks 1, 6, 9, 10); additional vocal recording (tracks 2, 4)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistance
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Artwork
  • Jordan Hemingway – creative direction, photography
  • Jamie Reid – art direction
  • Aiden Miller – design

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release history and formats for Blue Weekend
Region Date Format Label Catalogue Ref.
Various 4 June 2021
Dirty Hit Not applicable [60]
Australia CD
LIB226CD [61]
LP DH1058 [62]
LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive editions)
  • DH1059
  • DH1060
  • DH1117
 [63]
New Zealand CD Universal Music New Zealand LIB226CD [64]
LP DH1058 [65]
LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive editions)
  • Liberator
  • Dirty Hit
  • DH1059
  • DH1060
  • DH1117
 [66]

References
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  8. Hussey, Allison (24 February 2021). "Wolf Alice announce new album Blue Weekend, share video for new song: Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  9. Lavin, Will (20 April 2021). "Wolf Alice share heavy and hypnotic new single 'Smile'". NME. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  10. Skinner, Tom (11 May 2021). "Listen to Wolf Alice's delicate new single 'No Hard Feelings'". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
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  63. Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in Australia:
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  66. Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in New Zealand:
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