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." īlue Weekend was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2021, and multiple NME Awards in 2022. It was ranked as the third highest-rated album of 2021 on the website at the time of release. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of 100, the album received an average score of 91, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scoresīlue Weekend received acclaim from music critics, many of whom described it as their best album. "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. "No Hard Feelings" was released on, 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. It was premiered the same way as its predecessor. "Smile" was released on 20 April 2021 as the album's second single. The music video was released on YouTube an hour after Mac's radio show started. It was premiered by Annie Mac on herĮponymous BBC Radio 1 Radio program, where Ellie Rowsell and Theo Ellis from the band co-hosted with her. "The Last Man on Earth" was released on 24 February 2021 as the album's lead single. Promotion Singles īlue Weekend was preceded by four singles. On, the band announced that they would be bringing the album's release earlier by one week, to 4 June. 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". The album received acclaim from music critics, with many naming it the band's best work, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2021. Blue Weekend was preceded by four singles-" The Last Man on Earth", "Smile", "No Hard Feelings" and "How Can I Make It OK?". Songs like these ensure Blue Weekend never feels overwrought despite its ambition and lengthy creative process - instead, it's the kind of big, unabashedly emotional album that people make memories to, and some of Wolf Alice's most confident and fully realized music.Blue Weekend is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Wolf Alice, released on 4 June 2021 through Dirty Hit. The band's famed stylistic shifts feel more natural than ever, whether they're rocking out or harking back to their folky roots on "Safe from Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)" and "No Hard Feelings," a song about acceptance that skips away from heartache with deceptive ease. ![]() "Smile"'s collage of funk, industrial, pop, and acoustic elements is muscular and vulnerable at the same time, with Rowsell snarling "I ain't ashamed of the fact that I'm sensitive," then declaring "If you don't like me/Well, that isn't f*cking relevant" soon after. Even more so than on their previous albums, Wolf Alice stretch themselves emotionally as well as musically, particularly on "How Can I Make It OK?," a striking power ballad equally indebted to Cocteau Twins and Olivia Newton-John that surges forward on a huge riff as Rowsell sings "to live in fear isn't to live at all." Though Blue Weekend is dominated by slower songs, its outbursts are just as vital. Even as they take their dream pop to epic new heights on the hauntingly seductive "Lipstick on the Glass," they're still capable of capturing tiny nuances on songs such as "Feeling Myself," where Rowsell's introspection also reflects the voyeuristic nature of witnessing someone else's self-expression. The extra time they spent polishing the album in the studio with producer Markus Dravs during the COVID-19 lockdown was well spent: though songs like the luxurious Los Angeles homage "Delicious Things" reach a massive scope quickly, Ellie Rowsell always maintains a connection with her audience as she and the band zoom in and out from intimacy to majesty with cinematic skill. In between, Blue Weekend demonstrates just how much the group's power and control have grown in the four years since Visions of a Life. Wolf Alice announce their ambitions - and their ability to deliver on them - with the vast two-part song "The Beach," which opens the set by swelling to ever-greater peaks and closes it on a sweetly philosophical note. On the band's third album, they play to the back of the arenas and stadiums these songs were designed to be performed in. Wolf Alice's immensely successful second album, Visions of a Life, suggested they could go in any number of directions, but the one they chose for Blue Weekend is big with a capital B.
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