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Fate & Alcohol

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Fate & Alcohol
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 18, 2024
StudioRain City Recorders (Vancouver)
Length36:21
LabelAnti-
Producer
  • Japandroids
  • Jesse Gander
Japandroids chronology
Massey Fucking Hall
(2020)
Fate & Alcohol
(2024)

Fate & Alcohol is the fourth and final studio album by the Canadian rock duo Japandroids, released on October 18, 2024, by ANTI-.

Background

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The duo, composed of David Prowse and Brian King, decided to make Fate & Alcohol their last effort due to several factors. A gulf had grown between the two, both geographically—with King in Michigan and Prowse in Vancouver—and personally.[1] "We started as very close friends, and we've kind of grown apart in a lot of different ways, and this seemed like a natural kind of time to close," Prowse told NPR.[2]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[4]
Pitchfork5.9/10[5]

Fate & Alcohol received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[3]

Paste's Eric R. Danton wrote that Fate finds them at the "peak of their power", a "grand finale" both reflective and more mature than past efforts.[6] Craig Howieson of Clash Music called it "the closest they have ever come to perfecting their own sound,"[7] while Huw Baines of NME said it "captures the boisterous energy of old while reckoning with their bittersweet farewell."[8] Katie Hawthorne from the Guardian found it middling: "Passionate and bittersweet, Fate & Alcohol is the rare breakup album that suggests this finale is for the best."[4]

Other reviewers were negative. Arielle Gordon of Pitchfork surmised that Fate & Alcohol "comes ready with the booze-soaked conviction, but the keg's finally run dry [...] it strives to rekindle the same spirit that made their first three records sound like the best version of a night of drunken revelry. But with too few innovations and too many well-worn tropes, it lands like those two lonely guys at the bar trying to keep the party going after closing time."[5] Similarly, Brady Gerber at Vulture opined that "this is not how to end your band," calling it a "lazy retread [...] that passionate, life-affirming strain they used to hit in their high notes is gone."[9]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Japandroids

No.TitleLength
1."Eye Contact High"2:29
2."D&T"3:05
3."Alice"4:28
4."Chicago"3:58
5."Upon Sober Reflection"4:27
6."Fugitive Summer"3:56
7."A Gaslight Anthem"2:30
8."Positively 34th Street"5:03
9."One Without the Other"2:49
10."All Bets Are Off"3:32

Personnel

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Source:[10]

Japandroids
  • Brian King – guitar, vocals, production, songwriting
  • David Prowse – drums, vocals, production, songwriting
Technical
  • Jesse Gander – production, recording, mixing
  • Jason Livermore – mastering

References

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  1. ^ Cohen, Ian (September 16, 2024). "The Boys Are Leaving Town: The Final Days Of Japandroids". Stereogum. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Simon, Scott (October 19, 2024). "David Prowse of indie rock duo Japandroids on their latest". NPR. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Fate & Alcohol by Japandroids". Metacritic. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Hawthorne, Katie (October 18, 2024). "Japandroids: Fate & Alcohol review – Canadian duo's bittersweet breakup record". the Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Gordon, Arielle (October 23, 2024). "Japandroids: Fate & Alcohol". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ "Japandroids Wrap Up the Party with Fate & Alcohol". Paste Magazine. October 17, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  7. ^ "Fate & Alcohol". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. October 17, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Baines, Huw (October 16, 2024). "Japandroids – 'Fate & Alcohol' review: a fitting send-off for these recklessly romantic rock greats". NME. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  9. ^ Gerber, Brady (October 23, 2024). "This Is Not How to End Your Band". Vulture. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Fate & Alcohol, by Japandroids". Japandroids. October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.