Blue Weekend

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Blue Weekend
Wolf-Alice-Blue-Weekend.jpg
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

Blue Weekend is the third studio album by English alternative 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 widespread acclaim from music critics, with many naming it the band's best work, and it has been shortlisted for the 2021 Mercury Prize.

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".[5] On 3 May 2021, the band announced that they would be bringing the album's release earlier by one week, to 4 June.[6]

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.[7] 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.[7]

"Smile" was released on 20 April 2021 as the album's second single. It was premiered the same way as its predecessor.[8]

"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.[9] "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.[10]

Live performances[]

On 4 May 2021, Wolf Alice featured on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where they performed the single "Smile" live.[11]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[12]
Metacritic91/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[14]
Classic Rock9/10[15]
The Daily Telegraph5/5 stars[1]
DIY5/5 stars[16]
The Guardian5/5 stars[17]
The Independent5/5 stars[4]
Mojo4/5 stars[18]
NME5/5 stars[19]
Pitchfork7.2/10[20]
The Scotsman4/5 stars[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]

Music publication The Forty-Five awarded the album 5/5 stars, calling Blue Weekend "a ballsy idyll of feeling: the sound of a band satisfying themselves rather than proving themselves, and completely filling the space they've carved out over the years."[24]

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.[25]

Track listing[]

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

Blue Weekend track listing[26]
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

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blue Weekend.[27]

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[]

Chart performance for Blue Weekend
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 9
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[29] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 52
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] 96
Irish Albums (OCC)[32] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[33] 18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[37] 1
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[38] 25
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[39] 34
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[40] 19

Release history[]

Release history and formats for Blue Weekend
Region Date Format Label Catalogue Ref.
Various 4 June 2021
Dirty Hit Not applicable [41]
Australia CD
  • Dirty Hit
 LIB226CD [42]
LP DH1058 [43]
LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive editions)
  • DH1059
  • DH1060
  • DH1117
 [44]
New Zealand CD Universal Music New Zealand LIB226CD [45]
LP DH1058 [46]
LP (JB Hi-Fi exclusive editions)
  • Liberator
  • Dirty Hit
  • DH1059
  • DH1060
  • DH1117
 [47]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "If you thought guitar bands were dead, brace for Wolf Alice's Blue Weekend". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/wolf-alice-blue-weekend/
  3. ^ "Wolf Alice: Blue Weekend review – marvellous sequel to their Mercury winner". The Observer. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Wolf Alice review, Blue Weekend: Band are still intensely emotional, but more assured on their third album". The Independent. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Wolf Alice announce new album 'Blue Weekend'". DIY. 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  6. ^ Richards, Will (3 May 2021). "Wolf Alice bring forward the release of new album 'Blue Weekend'". NME Asia. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Skinner, Tom (11 May 2021). "Listen to Wolf Alice's delicate new single 'No Hard Feelings'". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Wolf Alice share enchanting new single 'How Can I Make It OK?'". NME. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  11. ^ Moore, Sam (5 May 2021). "Watch Wolf Alice perform 'Smile' on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden'". NME Australia. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Reviews and Tracks for Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Blue Weekend - Wolf Alice | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  15. ^ Classic Rock UK (July 2021). "Classic Rock UK". p. 84. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  16. ^ "Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend : A history book-cementing document of a band at the peak of their powers". DIY. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Wolf Alice: Blue Weekend review – massive ambitions exceptionally fulfilled". The Guardian. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  18. ^ Collins, Andrew (July 2021). "Filter Albums". Mojo. No. 332. p. 80. ISSN 1351-0193.
  19. ^ "Wolf Alice – 'Blue Weekend' review: a stone-cold masterpiece full of confidence and magic". NME. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Wolf Alice – 'Blue Weekend' review". Pitchfork. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Album reviews: Texas | James | Wolf Alice | Adam Holmes". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Wolf Alice: Critics laud band's 'third and best' album". BBC News. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Best Music and Albums for 2021". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  24. ^ French-Morris, Kate (3 June 2021). "Wolf Alice - 'Blue Weekend' album review". The Forty-Five. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  25. ^ Masterton, James (11 June 2021). "Charts analysis: Wolf Alice land first No.1 album with Blue Weekend". Music Week. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  26. ^ Legaspi, Althea (25 February 2021). "Wolf Alice preview new album 'Blue Weekend' with 'The Last Man on Earth'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  27. ^ Blue Weekend (liner notes). Wolf Alice. Dirty Hit. 2021. DH01139.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Ultratop.be – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  33. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  37. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  38. ^ "Wolf Alice Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  39. ^ "Wolf Alice Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  40. ^ "Wolf Alice Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  41. ^ "Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  42. ^ "Blue Weekend". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  43. ^ "Blue Weekend (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  44. ^ Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in Australia:
  45. ^ "Blue Weekend". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  46. ^ "Blue Weekend (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  47. ^ Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in New Zealand:

External links[]

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