The Inevitable End

Critical reception

The Inevitable End received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Madison Vain of Entertainment Weekly noted that the album "showcase[s] the best of the duo's trance-y instrumentals, propulsive hooks, and bubbling beats." Scott Simpson of Exclaim! opined that Röyksopp "have recorded the best final album they could have envisioned: a layered and cohesive package of enveloping synths filled with addictive hooks." Timothy Monger of AllMusic viewed the album as "a strong finale in the duo's signature style and whether or not this truly is the end or merely the end of their album era, The Inevitable End sits among the best in Röyksopp's catalog." Billboard's Jamieson Cox stated that the duo were "leaving on a high note" and lauded the album as "sublime melancholy electro-pop, rich and emotionally resonant without feeling maudlin." Ryan Lathan of PopMatters called the album "gorgeously produced" and wrote that it "will never be looked upon as a terribly uplifting experience, but its lyrical content treats heartache, despair, self-hatred, remorse, depression, and the fear of the unknown with utter respect."

Franklin Jones of Slant Magazine commented, "Though the album doesn't skimp on potentially insufferable moments of bottom-lip-biting farewell [...] the best tracks boast a fiercely renewed energy that suggests Berge and Brundtland still have much more to offer." Corinne Jones of The Observer remarked that "[t]he best songs have a dark, brooding quality: the Norwegian duo's once naive sound has evolved to a smarter, more lyrically resonant electronica, and if it weren't for a couple of whimsical ballads, this would be a powerful, cohesive goodbye." At The Guardian, Michael Hann found that The Inevitable End "embodies [Röyksopp's] strengths and [...] weaknesses"; he cited "Running to the Sea" and "Sordid Affair" as standouts from the album, but felt that the album contains "too much drift". Pitchfork Media's Marc Hogan expressed, "Despite capable guest vocalists, including Robyn herself, [the album is] generally devoted to glossy, bittersweet electronic drifts that are too slow, too long, or too bland to hold interest for 60 minutes, though often unobjectionable in smaller servings." Phil Hebblethwaite of the NME characterised the album as "the sound of a band once introspective but alive, now lost, depressed and completely unavailable."

Commercial performance

The Inevitable End debuted at number thirty-eight on the UK Albums Chart, selling 3,487 copies in its first week. In the United States, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number 102 and the Dance/Electronic Albums chart at number two, with first-week sales of 4,000 copies.

Track listing

All tracks written by Röyksopp, except where noted.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Inevitable End.