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 again the original members Neil Codling, after 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. A 7-inch of "Barriers" marked Record Store Day on 20 April, the studio version of "Animal Nitrate" its b-side.

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."

Commercial performance
Bloodsports debuted on the Official UK Albums Chart at number 10, making it the band's first top 10 album since Head Music in 1999.

Accolades
Bloodsports has been included in many Best Albums of 2013 lists including:

Personnel
Suede
 * Brett Anderson – vocals
 * Richard Oakes – guitars
 * Simon Gilbert – drums
 * Mat Osman – electric bass
 * Neil Codling – synthesisers, guitars

Technical
 * Ed Buller – production, engineering
 * Andy Hughes – engineering
 * Paul-Édouard Laurendeau – engineering
 * Joel M. Peters – engineering assistance
 * Andy Wallace – mixing
 * Paul Suarez – Pro Tools engineering
 * Howie Weinberg – mastering
 * Dan Gerbarg – mastering

Artwork
 * Jonathan Baron – cover
 * Matthew Holroyd – cover
 * Brett Anderson – cover
 * Mat Osman – cover
 * Blommers/Schumm – artwork photography
 * Roger Sargent – band photography
 * Studio-Baron – design