The Blue Hour (album)

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

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

The Blue Hour
Studio album by Suede
Released	21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Recorded	2017–2018
Studio	Assault & Battery, London
Genre	Alternative rock art rock
Length	51:36
Label	Warner Music UK
Producer	Alan Moulder
Suede chronology
Night Thoughts (2016) The Blue Hour (2018) Autofiction (2022)
Singles from The Blue Hour
"The Invisibles" Released: 3 June 2018 "Don't Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You" Released: 12 July 2018 "Life Is Golden" Released: 15 August 2018 "Flytipping" Released: 14 September 2018 "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
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. 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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"As One"	Brett Anderson Richard Oakes Neil Codling	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.	Title	Length
1.	"The Blue Hour instrumental"	51:36
Total length:		51:36

Box set 7" vinyl

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Manipulation"	2:05

Box set DVD

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

Personnel

Suede Brett Anderson – vocals Richard Oakes – guitar Simon Gilbert – drums Mat Osman – bass guitar Neil Codling – synthesiser, piano Technical Alan Moulder – production, mixing Neil Codling – additional production Caesar Edmunds – engineering Richie Kennedy – engineering assistance (recording) Tom Herbert – engineering assistance (mix) Geoff Pesche – mastering

Spoken Word Jasmine Hyde (1, 2 & 9) Jordan Aniseed (1 & 9) Jay Pickles (1) Mitch Kieries (1) Duncan Rosaline (5 & 11) Brett Anderson (11) Orchestra (on tracks 1–3, 7, 8, 11–14) City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Guy Protheroe – conducting Lucie Švehlová – concertmaster Neil Codling – arrangement (except on track 13) Richard Oakes – arrangement (on track 3) Oli Langford – arrangement (on track 8) Craig Armstrong – arrangement (on track 13) Vitek Kral – recording engineering Michael Hradiský – assistant engineering

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