Comedown Machine

Comedown Machine is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Strokes. It was released on March 26, 2013, through RCA Records.[1] The band decided to pull a media blackout for the album, with no promotion in the form of television appearances, interviews, photoshoots, live shows, or tours. The cover artwork was designed to resemble an old RCA tape reel box.

Comedown Machine
Studio album by the Strokes
Released	March 26, 2013
Recorded	July – November 2012
Studio	Electric Lady (New York City) One Way (Upstate New York)
Genre	Indie rock post-punk revival new wave synth-pop
Length	39:49
Label	RCA
Producer	Gus Oberg
The Strokes chronology
Angles (2011) Comedown Machine (2013) Future Present Past (2016)
Singles from Comedown Machine
"One Way Trigger" Released: January 25, 2013 "All the Time" Released: February 19, 2013

Comedown Machine received mostly positive reviews from critics, and was placed at number 41 on the NME's list of the "50 Best Albums of 2013".[2]

Promotion and release

Before the release of the album the song "One Way Trigger" was released as a free download and was made available for streaming via YouTube[3] and SoundCloud,[4] and as a free download via the band's official website on January 25, 2013.[4] Julian Casablancas posted a stylized lyric sheet for the song, designed by long-time collaborator Warren Fu, on his official website on January 30, 2013.[5] "All the Time" was released as a digital download on February 19, 2013[6] and later released as a 7-inch single on April 20, 2013 and contained "Fast Animals" as the B-side.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The A.V. Club	B[10]
Consequence of Sound	C+[11]
Entertainment Weekly	C–[12]
The Guardian	[13]
The Independent	[14]
NME	8/10[15]
Pitchfork	6.1/10[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Spin	6/10[18]

Critical

Media response to Comedown Machine was generally favorable; the aggregating website Metacritic reports a weighted average rating of 68%, based on 44 reviews.[8] "Whether you're in an Is This It vortex or not, this is The Strokes and they've returned with their most thought-provoking, strange and sexiest record yet," said Kieran Mayall of Clash magazine.[19] James Skinner of BBC Music added, "Although plenty of the group’s signature sounds are present and correct, they form the backdrop to an unexpectedly wide range of styles and approaches."[20] In contrast, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone questioned why the album was "an official Strokes album instead of another Casablancas solo album."[17]

Commercial

Without much promotional effort, Comedown Machine entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 10 but became the band's first album not to debut within the top three. The album did, however, give the band their fifth consecutive appearance in the top ten.[21] Likewise, it reached No.10 in the US with an entry sales week of 41,000 copies, the band's weakest performance since Is This It in 2001.[22] As of 2014 it has sold 77,454 copies in US.[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by the Strokes (Julian Casablancas, Nikolai Fraiture, Albert Hammond Jr., Fabrizio Moretti, Nick Valensi) except where noted.

Comedown Machine[24]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tap Out"		3:42
2.	"All the Time"	Julian Casablancas Nikolai Fraiture[25]	3:01
3.	"One Way Trigger"	J. Casablancas Albert Hammond Jr.[26]	4:02
4.	"Welcome to Japan"	J. Casablancas A. Hammond Jr. Nick Valensi[27]	3:50
5.	"80's Comedown Machine"	J. Casablancas N. Fraiture A. Hammond Jr. Fabrizio Moretti N. Valensi[28]	4:58
6.	"50/50"		2:43
7.	"Slow Animals"	J. Casablancas N. Valensi[25]	4:20
8.	"Partners in Crime"	J. Casablancas A. Hammond Jr. N. Valensi[27]	3:21
9.	"Chances"	J. Casablancas A. Hammond Jr. F. Moretti[25]	3:36
10.	"Happy Ending"		2:52
11.	"Call It Fate, Call It Karma"	J. Casablancas A. Hammond Jr. N. Valensi[25]	3:24
Total length:			39:49

Japanese bonus track[7]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Fast Animals"	J. Casablancas N. Valensi	3:43
Total length:			43:32

Personnel

The Strokes Julian Casablancas – vocals Albert Hammond Jr. – guitar, keyboards Nick Valensi – guitar, keyboards, Mellotron on "80's Comedown Machine" Nikolai Fraiture – bass guitar, double bass on "Call It Fate, Call It Karma" Fabrizio Moretti – drums, percussion

Production Gus Oberg – producer, audio mixer, engineer Phil Joly – engineer Dave Lutch – mastering Design Brett Kilroe – art direction, design Fab Moretti – art direction Tina Ibañez – design Colin Lane – original band photography Jason McDonald – still life photography

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29]	7
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30]	21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31]	31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[32]	49
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[33]	17
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[34]	27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[35]	42
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[36]	48
French Albums (SNEP)[37]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38]	50
Irish Albums (IRMA)[39]	9
Italian Albums (FIMI)[40]	31
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[41]	9
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[31]	10
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42]	18
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43]	10
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[44]	18
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[45]	16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46]	28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47]	16
UK Albums (OCC)[48]	10
US Billboard 200[49]	10
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[50]	3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[51]	3
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[52]	1

References

1. "The Strokes Announce Fifth Studio Album, 'Comedown Machine'". Billboard. January 30, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
2. NME.COM. "NME's 50 Best Albums Of 2013 - NME.COM". Retrieved 1 October 2016.
3. "The Strokes - "One Way Trigger" (Audio)". YouTube. Google. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
4. Battan, Carrie (January 25, 2013). "Listen: The Strokes' New Song "One Way Trigger"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
5. Snapes, Laura. "Check Out the Strokes' B Movie-Style Lyric Poster for "One Way Trigger"". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
6. Lipshutz, Jason (January 30, 2013). "The Strokes Announce Fifth Studio Album, 'Comedown Machine'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
7. "The Strokes reveal new single B-side 'Fast Animals' - listen". NME. March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
8. "Comedown Machine by The Strokes". Metacritic.com. March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
9. Phares, Heather (March 25, 2013). "Comedown Machine - The Strokes". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
10. Modell, Josh (March 26, 2012). "The Strokes: Comedown Machine". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
11. Roffman, Michael (March 25, 2013). "Album Review: The Strokes – Comedown Machine". Retrieved March 29, 2013.
12. Anderson, Kyle (March 20, 2013). "Comedown Machine Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
13. Nicholson, Rebecca (March 21, 2013). "The Strokes: Comedown Machine – review". The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
14. Gill, Andy (March 22, 2013). "Album review: The Strokes, Comedown Machine (Rough Trade)". The Independent. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
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