Today Is Our Day

Today Is Our Day is the debut album from Swedish-based trio Suede. The album was released in two editions ("regular" and "bonus track version") and also in two different languages: English and, the trio's native language, Swedish; the Swedish version is known as Idag är vår dag. Both the English and Swedish versions, as well as both editions of the English album, were released first in Sweden on January 2, 2012. The English regular and bonus track editions of the album were released only in the UK and Ireland on January 9, 2012. The album features songs that are solely written by the group and all production of the album (except with some additional production) was mainly done by Curriculum member and producer, Shawn Middlesbrough.

Basically a dance-based pop album that has lyrics that are described as "sassy and fun", the album was released to critical acclaim and has been commercially successful. In the UK, the album has reached #3 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Platinum, selling over 537,000 copies to date. To date, the album has spawned five singles and two of them have been released in the UK: "See The Light" and "Guns and Bullets" which both peaked at #6 on the UK Singles Charts and have been certified Silver by the BPI.

Background
The group described in an interview that the album is a "party and escape album" and that they tried to make it an album full of "pure dance-pop" music while describing that most of the songs on the album are "good, clean, and carefree fun that [will] take you to another place".

The group revealed three covers for the album on December 26, 2012 with MUSE widely reporting coverage about it. The three covers included those for the English regular and bonus track editions and the Swedish version, which includes all their songs combined from their English regular and bonus track editions recorded in Swedish on one album. The Swedish version of the album will only be released in Sweden and possibly (and eventually) other neighboring Scandanavian countries.

Release
The album was first released in Sweden on January 2, 2012, the same day their lead single "See The Light" was released in the UK. In Sweden, both editions (regular and bonus track version) of the English album and the Swedish version were released. On January 9, 2012, only the English editions, and not the Swedish version, will be released in the UK and Ireland. The bonus track editions contained three additional tracks that were packaged with the ten regular tracks. There were initially supposed to be five additional tracks on the bonus track versions but, for reasons unknown, it was cut down to three. On March 5, 2012, the album was released in Norway and, on the following day, on March 6, 2012, the album was released in the United States and Canada.

Singles
So far, two singles has been lifted from the album.


 * "See The Light" is the lead single from the album. It was released in Sweden (in both English and Swedish) on December 26, 2012, while it was released in the UK on January 2, 2012. Receiving critical acclaim for its "anthemic feel and vibe", as stated by a critics, the single has so far reached #4 in Sweden and has debuted at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the trio's first top ten hit in both countries. In the UK, it has been certified Silver.


 * "Låt dem gå" is technically the second single from the album. With the track being found only on the Swedish version of the album, it was released as a single only in Sweden on January 23, 2012. With it being sent to Swedish radio on January 30, 2012, the song is the Swedish version of the song "Let Them Go", which was originally a b-side to the group's debut single "See The Light"; "Låt dem gå" was the b-side for the Swedish version of "See The Light" ("Ser Iljuset"). Both versions of the song were tacked onto Swedish editions of the album at the last minute. It will not be released in the UK as a single. In Sweden, the single reached #11 on the Sverigetopplistan.


 * "Pass Me By" is the third single to be the lifted from the album and is the second single to be released in the North America (United States and Canada). So far only released in those countries, the single has reached #2 on the Canadian Hot 100 and #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The trio confirmed that they plan to release the single elsewhere due to the success of the single in Canada and the US. "Pass Me By", alongside with "Hovering", was supposed to be released as a double A single in the UK in June 2012; its release was eventually cancelled.


 * "Guns and Bullets" is the fourth single from the album and the second single to be released in the UK. The song premiered on March 19, 2012 was released on April 16, 2012. The single suffered from moderately poor promotion but, despite this, reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart. It has been certified Silver.


 * "Hovering" is the fifth (and until further notice, final) single from the album and was released in Sweden, Norway, and Ireland on June 4, 2012 and the United States and Canada on June 5, 2012. The single managed to become another international hit for the trio reaching the top ten in Norway, Ireland, Canada, and the US; it reached #27 in Sweden. "Hovering" was planned to be released as a double A-sided single with "Pass Me By" in the UK on June 25, 2012; plans to release the song in the UK has since been scrapped.


 * The trio plans to re-release the album with new tracks and might possibly come back with new singles for the re-release. Until further notice, the era for the album has somewhat ended.

The trio planned on released "All I See Is You" and later "The Way You Watch Me Watch You" as singles but both songs were cancelled.

Critical reaction
Critics have given the album a positive reviews, basically complimenting the album's overall lyrical content (which has been described as "sassy, fun, and filled with so much attitude...and sometimes bitchy" as stated by one UK critic), the vocal arrangements on the songs (and mainly lead singer Herman Chang's vocal performance), and the production on some of the songs by Middlesbrough. The artwork for the album was also praised.

Commercial performance
The album debuted, and has so far peaked, at #13 on the Swedish Albums Chart.

On the week ending January 15, 2012, Today Is Our Day debuted at #3 on the UK Albums Chart and sold 79,913 copies in its first week. The following week, the album slipped to #4 but managed to push the album's sales over the 100,000 threshold. The album was certified Silver by the BPI after two weeks of sales. To date, the album has been certified Platinum by the BPI and has sold over 487,000 copies to date. The album reached #6 in Ireland and has been certified Platinum by IRMA (Irish Recorded Music Association).

In the United States, the album debuted at #139 and in early April, the album rose from #145 to #58, giving the album a new peak position and also having it awarded the "Pace Setter" of the week by Billboardthemselves. In May 2012, the album reached #3 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified Gold by RIAA and has sold over 500,000 copies. After spending many weeks on the lower regions of the Canadian Albums chart, the album finally rose to #3 also in May 2012.

In June 2012, after three months of release, Today Is Our Day suddenly debuted at #11 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.

Track listing

 * English version (standard/bonus track)
 * 1) "The Doormat"
 * 2) "See The Light"
 * 3) "Coming For Me"
 * 4) "Guns and Bullets"
 * 5) "Hovering"
 * 6) "(Fuck It) I'm Going Out"
 * 7) "I Can't Speak Now"
 * 8) "Pass Me By"
 * 9) "The Way You Watch Me Watch You"
 * 10) "Our Day"
 * 11) "All I See Is You" (bonus track)
 * 12) "To The Fullest" (bonus track)
 * 13) "Hello World" (bonus track)
 * 14) "Let Them Go" (Swedish bonus track)


 * Swedish version
 * 1) "Den dörrmatta" ("The Doormat")
 * 2) "Ser ljuset" ("See The Light")
 * 3) "Kommande för mig" ("Coming For Me")
 * 4) "Vapen och kulor" ("Guns and Bullets")
 * 5) "Vakar över mig" ("Hovering"; literal translation: "Watch over me")
 * 6) "(Fan det) Jag går ut" ("(Fuck It) I'm Going Out)"; literal translation: "(Damn it) I'll go out")
 * 7) "Jag kan inte tala" ("I Can't Speak Now"; literal translation: "I can not speak")
 * 8) "Pass mig genom" ("Pass Me By")
 * 9) "Sättet du se mig se dig" ("The Way You Watch Me Watch You"; literal translation: "The way you see me see you")
 * 10) "Vår dag" ("Our Day"; literal translation: "Our days")
 * 11) "Allt jag ser är du" ("All I See Is You")
 * 12) "Leva ditt liv" ("To The Fullest"; literal translation: "Live your life")
 * 13) "Hej världen" ("Hello World")
 * 14) "Låt dem gå" ("Let Them Go")