Japandroids announce final album “Fate And Alcohol” and release new song “Chicago”: Listen now

Japandroids are coming back for one last job. It’s been seven years since the Vancouver dude-rock duo released their third album Close to the wild heart of lifeand it’s been almost six years since they last played their last live concert. You might think Japandroids have quietly decided to call it quits, but Japandroids don’t do anything quietly. Later this year they will return with Fate and alcoholIt is their fourth album and also their last.

Following the release of the new album, the duo Brian King and Dave Prowse have not given any clues as to why they are splitting up. However, a press release states: Fate and alcohol will be a “parting gift” for fans. Japandroids produced the record together with their long-time collaborator Jesse Gander. The first single “Chicago” is not a cover of Sufjan Stevens. It is a driving, slow-building, heartfelt rock song about not wanting good things to end. “Chicago” is unmistakably a Japandroids song and feels like it was made for sweaty mass sing-along sessions.

Here’s what Brian King has to say about the song:

On our last record, we wanted to expand the definition of a Japandroids song, and we intentionally left our demos pretty open and malleable so we had more flexibility to experiment in the studio. Back then, this approach was new and exciting, and inspired us to be bolder and take more risks. We wanted a more cinematic version of our signature sound. This time around, we made sure to get each song banging in our jam room before Jesse even heard it. If you listen to our first demo of “Chicago,” it’s obviously a lot rawer than what you hear on the record, but it’s all there. Even on an over-the-top iPhone recording, the energy was palpable and the feeling came through loud and clear.

And here Dave Prowse says about the band itself:

I don’t think we’re the most technically skilled band in the world. And we’re not the band with the most original sound or the most sophisticated music in the world. But we’ve always put a lot of passion into what we do, and I think that comes across to a lot of people. And I’m really grateful that we’ve been able to be that band for people, like so many bands have been for us.

Japandroids haven’t announced any live shows yet, but I can’t imagine them not play shows when they have a new record in store. Listen to “Chicago” below and watch the Fate & Alcohol Tracklist.

TRACK LIST:
01 “Eye contact high”
02 “D&T”
03 “Alice”
04 “Chicago”
05 “After sober consideration”
06 “Fleeting Summer”
07 “A Gaslight Anthem”
08 “Definitely 34th Street”
09 “One without the other”
10 “All bets are void”

Fate & Alcohol will be released on October 18th by Epitaph.