Bloodsports (album)


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.

Release

In January 2013, Suede released a free download of opening track "Barriers". The first single proper, "It Starts and Ends with You", followed in February. Second single "Hit Me" was released in May and a third single, "For the Strangers", was released in October. 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."

Accolades

Bloodsports has been included in many Best Albums of 2013 lists including:
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
ABC NewsUSThe 50 Best Albums of 2013201329
AllMusicUSBest of 2013 – Top 50 Albums2013N/A
PopMattersUSThe 75 Best Albums of the Year201357
QUK50 Albums of the Year201322
The QuietusUKAlbums of the Year201342
Rough TradeUKTop 100 Albums of the Year201367
Under the RadarUSTop 125 Albums of 2013201323

Track listing

Personnel

Suede
Technical
Artwork