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Blue Weekend
Studio album by Wolf Alice
Released	4 June 2021
Studio	ICP (Brussels) Iguana (London)
Genre	Alternative rock rock indie pop shoegaze
Length	40:08
Label	Dirty Hit
Producer	Markus Dravs
Wolf Alice chronology
Visions of a Life (2017) Blue Weekend (2021)
Singles from Blue Weekend
"The Last Man on Earth" Released: 24 February 2021 "Smile" Released: 20 April 2021 "No Hard Feelings" Released: 11 May 2021 "How Can I Make It OK?" Released: 3 June 2021

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

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

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. 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.

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

"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. "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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.3/10
Metacritic	91/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Classic Rock	9/10
The Daily Telegraph
DIY
The Guardian
The Independent
Mojo
NME
Pitchfork	7.2/10
The Scotsman

Blue Weekend received acclaim from music critics, many of whom described it as their best album. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating of 100, the album received an average score of 91, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". It was ranked as the third highest-rated album of 2021 on the website at the time of release.

Blue Weekend was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2021, and multiple NME Awards in 2022.

Accolades

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. It was the biggest-selling album of 2021 in UK independent record shops.

Track listing

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

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blue Weekend.

Wolf Alice

• Ellie Rowsell – vocals, guitar, piano, bass, programming, Mellotron, synth, Wurlitzer, string arrangement
• Joff Oddie – guitar, piano, backing vocals, glock, programming, synth, claps, electric upright bass, bass, tenor resonator, 12-string, classical guitar, acoustic guitar
• Theo Ellis – bass, programming
• Joel Amey – drums, percussion, synth, backing vocals, guitar, Stylophone, programming, claps

Additional musicians

• Owen Pallett – string arrangement, violin, viola
• Iain Berryman – glasses, programming, keys, trumpet
• Joel Workman – electric upright bass
• Michael Peter Olsen – cello
• Markus Dravs – programming, synth

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

Certifications

Release history

References

1. ^ "Wolf Alice: Blue Weekend". Pitchfork.
2. ^ Hall, James (4 June 2021). "If you thought guitar bands were dead, brace for Wolf Alice's Blue Weekend". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
3. "Wolf Alice: Blue Weekend review – marvellous sequel to their Mercury winner". The Observer. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
4. Hayden Merrick, Evan Sawdey (24 November 2021). "THE 15 BEST INDIE POP ALBUMS OF 2021". Popmatters. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
5. ^ "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.
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7. 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.
8. ^ 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.
9. 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.
10. Skinner, Tom (11 May 2021). "Listen to Wolf Alice's delicate new single 'No Hard Feelings'". NME. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
11. "Wolf Alice share enchanting new single 'How Can I Make It OK?'". NME. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
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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.
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18. Collins, Andrew (July 2021). "Filter Albums". Mojo. No. 332. p. 80. ISSN 1351-0193.
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59. "Blue Weekend". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
60. "Blue Weekend (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
61. Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in Australia:
    • Green Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Green Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    • Transparent Red Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Transparent Red Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    • Transparent Yellow Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Transparent Yellow Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
62. "Blue Weekend". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
63. "Blue Weekend (Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
64. Blue Weekend received several transparent and colour variant releases in New Zealand:
    • Green Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Green Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    • Transparent Red Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Transparent Red Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    • Transparent Yellow Vinyl: "Blue Weekend (Limited Transparent Yellow Vinyl)". JB Hi-Fi. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

External links

• Blue Weekend at Discogs (list of releases)

• 2021 albums
• Wolf Alice albums
• Albums produced by Markus Dravs
• Dirty Hit albums
• RCA Records albums