The Blue Hour (album)

The Blue Hour is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band Suede. The album was released on 21 September 2018.[1][2]

This article is about the 2018 album by Suede. For the 1960 jazz album, see Blue Hour.

The Blue Hour
Studio album by
Suede
Released21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Recorded2017–2018
StudioAssault & Battery, London
Genre
Length51:36
LabelWarner Music UK
ProducerAlan Moulder
Suede chronology
Night Thoughts
(2016)		 The Blue Hour
(2018)		 Autofiction
(2022)
Singles from The Blue Hour
  1. "The Invisibles"
    Released: 3 June 2018
  2. "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You"
    Released: 12 July 2018
  3. "Life Is Golden"
    Released: 15 August 2018
  4. "Flytipping"
    Released: 14 September 2018
  5. "Wastelands"
    Released: 29 October 2018

It was the first Suede album since A New Morning not to be produced by longtime producer Ed Buller, and the first to be produced by Alan Moulder.[3] This is their final album to be released under Warner Music.

Background

The concept for The Blue Hour began in May 2016, when lead singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Richard Oakes and keyboardist Neil 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 producer Alan 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 at Abbey Road Studios.

Release and promotion

The album was announced on 28 April 2018 with the mysterious title, #Suede8 through their Instagram, before they revealed the official title on 30 April 2018 via a video trailer on their Instagram and YouTube, 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 of Ukrainian ghost town, Pripyat. Fourth single, "Flytipping" was issued on 14 September. The accompanying music video of "Wastelands" was uploaded on 29 October through their official YouTube channel, and featured the free-runner Robbie Griffith.

The album was released in a number of different versions:

  • Standard physical & digital release – contains the album tracks.
  • Deluxe Box Set – contains the album tracks on CD and LP, along with a CD of instrumental tracks, a 7" vinyl with the bonus track "Manipulation", a DVD with commentary from the band and Alan Moulder and the entirety of the album's artwork.

The Official Charts Company reported midweek sales of 9,654.[6] It had sold 10,986 units by the end of the week.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[8]
Metacritic77/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
The Irish Times[13]
Mojo[14]
NME[15]
Q[16]
Record Collector[17]
The Times[18]
Uncut8/10[19]

The Blue Hour was released to positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Blue Hour has an average score of 77 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[9]

Commercial performance

The Blue Hour charted at number five on the UK Albums Chart, which is the highest-charting album by the band since Head Music in 1999.[20] The album has sold 27,396 units as of July 2021 according to the Official Charts Company.[20]

Year-end lists
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Drowned in Sound Top 15 Albums of 2018
13
[21]
Gigwise Top 51 Albums of 2018
10
[22]
The Independent The 40 Best Albums of 2018
35
[23]
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2018
35
[24]
musicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2018
5
[25]
The Quietus Top 100 Albums of 2018
4
[26]

Track listing
Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."As One"
4:10
2."Wastelands"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
5:31
3."Mistress"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
3:23
4."Beyond the Outskirts"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:06
5."Chalk Circles"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
2:04
6."Cold Hands"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
3:16
7."Life Is Golden"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
3:57
8."Roadkill"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
2:06
9."Tides"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:08
10."Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
4:24
11."Dead Bird"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
0:26
12."All the Wild Places"
  • Anderson
  • Codling
3:15
13."The Invisibles"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
4:09
14."Flytipping"
  • Anderson
  • Oakes
  • Codling
6:41
Total length:51:36
Japanese and deluxe box set bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."The Blue Hour instrumental"51:36
Total length:51:36
Box set 7" vinyl
No.TitleLength
15."Manipulation"2:05
Box set DVD
No.TitleLength
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

Personnel

Charts
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

References
  1. Copsey, Rob (30 April 2018). "Suede announce new album The Blue Hour". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  2. "Suede Prep New LP, 'The Blue Hour'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  3. "SUEDE :: Banda anuncia novo álbum para setembro". Urge | Música, Filmes, Séries, Games (in Brazilian Portuguese). 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  4. Harrison, Ian (July 2018). "What Goes On!". Mojo (296): 22.
  5. YouTube trailer
  6. Homewood, Ben (26 September 2018). "Suede poised for Top 5 entry with The Blue Hour". Music Week. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. Jones, Alan (23 September 2022). "Charts analysis: Blackpink become second Korean act to score UK No.1 album". Music Week. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  8. "The Blue Hour by Suede reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  9. "The Blue Hour by Suede Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  10. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Blue Hour – Suede". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  11. Turner, Luke (21 September 2018). "Suede: The Blue Hour review – a wild ride into a rural nightmare". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  12. Beaumont, Mark; O'Connor, Roisin (20 September 2018). "Album reviews: Suede – The Blue Hour, Villagers – The Art of Pretending to Swim". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  13. Clayton-Lea, Tony (21 September 2018). "Suede: The Blue Hour review – Orchestral manoeuvres with a spark". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  14. Perry, Andrew (October 2018). "Suede: The Blue Hour". Mojo. No. 299. London. p. 93.
  15. Trendell, Andrew (19 September 2018). "Suede – 'The Blue Hour' review". NME. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  16. Barton, Laura (October 2018). "Pomp and Circumstance". Q. No. 390. London. p. 118.
  17. Harley, Kevin (October 2018). "Suede – The Blue Hour". Record Collector. No. 484. London. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  18. Hodgkinson, Will (21 September 2018). "Pop review: Suede: The Blue Hour". The Times. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  19. Wray, Daniel Dylan (October 2018). "Suede: The Blue Hour". Uncut. No. 257. London. p. 34.
  20. Paine, Andre (9 July 2021). "Suede sign to BMG for new album". Music Week. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  21. "Drowned in Sound's 15 Favourite Albums of 2018". Drowned in Sound. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  22. "Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2018". Gigwise. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  23. "The 40 Best Albums of 2018". The Independent. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  24. "The 75 Best Albums of 2018". Mojo. No. 302. January 2019. p. 43.
  25. Hubbard, Michael (5 December 2018). "MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2018". musicOMH. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  26. Turner, Luke (25 December 2018). "The Quietus' Top 100 Albums of 2018". The Quietus. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  27. "Austriancharts.at – Suede – The Blue Hour" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  28. "Ultratop.be – Suede – The Blue Hour" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  29. "Ultratop.be – Suede – The Blue Hour" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  30. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 39.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  31. "Dutchcharts.nl – Suede – The Blue Hour" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  32. "Suede: The Blue Hour" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  33. "Offiziellecharts.de – Suede – The Blue Hour" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  34. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2018. 39. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  35. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Suede". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  36. "Italiancharts.com – Suede – The Blue Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  37. "Suede". Oricon. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  38. "Portuguesecharts.com – Suede – The Blue Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  39. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  40. "Spanishcharts.com – Suede – The Blue Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  41. "Swedishcharts.com – Suede – The Blue Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  42. "Swisscharts.com – Suede – The Blue Hour". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  43. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
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