Otherness (Alexisonfire album)

Otherness
Studio album by
Alexisonfire
ReleasedJune 24, 2022[1]
StudioJukasa Recording Studios, Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada[2]
Genre
Length50:05
LabelDine Alone
Producer
  • Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire chronology
Death Letter
(2012) 		Otherness
(2022)
Singles from Otherness
  1. "Sweet Dreams of Otherness"
    Released: March 10, 2022
  2. "Reverse the Curse"
    Released: April 20, 2022
  3. "Sans Soleil"
    Released: May 18, 2022
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic92/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Distorted Sound9/10[3]
Kerrang![5]
Line of Best Fit7/10[6]
Louder[7]
Sputnikmusic[8]

Otherness is the fifth studio album by Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. The album was released on June 24, 2022, thirteen years after the release of their last full-length album, Old Crows / Young Cardinals. It is also their first album since reuniting in 2015. The album takes its name from the first single from the album released, "Sweet Dreams of Otherness", which premiered on YouTube on March 10, 2022. It peaked at No. 4 on the Canadian albums chart.

The album won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023.[9]

Background

Alexisonfire reunited in 2015 but did not release any new material until February 15, 2019, when they released "Familiar Drugs", their first song in over eight years.[10] On May 24, 2019, the band released another standalone single called "Complicit",[11] followed by "Season of the Flood", on January 13, 2020.[12]

There appeared to be little intention from the band to release another full-length album until January 18, 2022, when it was reported that the band's Genius page had been updated, showing metadata about an unreleased Alexisonfire album, complete with artwork and tracklist.[13]

Track listing

All music is composed by Alexisonfire[1]

Otherness track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Committed to the Con"4:01
2."Sweet Dreams of Otherness"4:44
3."Sans Soleil"5:04
4."Conditional Love"2:53
5."Blue Spade"5:31
6."Dark Night of the Soul"6:02
7."Mistaken Information"4:48
8."Survivor's Guilt"4:52
9."Reverse the Curse"3:54
10."World Stops Turning"8:16
Total length:50:05

Personnel

Credits retrieved from album's liner notes.

Alexisonfire

Additional Musicians

  • Matt Kelly - vocal arrangement assistance, pedal steel, slide guitar, synthesisers, keyboards
  • Jill Zimmermann - backing vocals (track 8)

Technical

Artwork

  • Nedda Afsari - photography, creative direction
  • Nick Steinhardt - art direction, design
  • Ryan Sanders - art direction, design
  • Sara Cummings - model
  • Anthony Maldonado - model
  • Blake Armstrong - makeup
  • Ricky Fraser - hair
  • Ross Farrar - production assistant

Charts

Chart performance for Otherness
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 42
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 67
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 3
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[20] 3

References

  1. ^ a b "Alexisonfire Announces First Album In 13 Years, 'Otherness'". Blabbermouth.net. March 10, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "Alexisonfire Announce First New Album in 13 Years". Exclaim!. March 10, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Bird, Katie (20 June 2022). "ALBUM REVIEW: Otherness – Alexisonfire". Distorted Sound. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Otherness by Alexisonfire Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Album review: Alexisonfire – Otherness". kerrang.com. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  6. ^ Taylor, Ims (24 June 2022). "Alexisonfire strengthen their post-hardcore heavyweight status on Otherness". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Canadian post-hardcore kings Alexisonfire have made a comeback album to be proud of". loudersound.com. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Review: Alexisonfire - Otherness". Sputnikmusic. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  9. ^ Jenna Benchetrit and Arti Patel, "The Weeknd picks up 4 wins on Junos 2023 opening night". CBC News, March 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "Take a listen to the new Alexisonfire song 'Familiar Drugs'". Kill the Music. February 15, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  11. ^ brownypaul (May 24, 2019). "Alexisonfire Dropped A New Song Called 'Complicit'". Wall of Sound. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Alexisonfire releases new single 'Season of the Flood'". Global News. January 13, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  13. ^ "Are Alexisonfire Releasing a New Album?". Exclaim!. January 18, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  14. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  15. ^ "Billboard Canadian Albums: Week of July 9, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Alexisonfire – Otherness" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  20. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.