The album was announced alongside the release of lead single "Ten Billion People".[3] The band toured in North America, Europe and the UK in support of the record from September 15 to November 20, 2023.[4]
In a press release accompanying the announcement, the band stated that End was not the band's final album but that the album's "starting point was the concept of an ending—death, or the end of a friendship or relationship".[5]
End received a score of 73 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on ten critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[6]Mojo called it "a 'rumination on life and death', which suitably chimed with earth's current 'end times' vibe, from sorrow to rage, elevated by post-rock's most luminescent guitars."[9]Uncut found that "the music is varied, best expressed by 'Peace or Quiet', which stretches their loud-quiet dynamic as far as it can go".[10] Paul Simpson of AllMusic felt that End "incorporates a lot of the touches and techniques that made The Wilderness stand out in the group's discography, from rippling electronics to post-minimalist repetition".[7] Bruno Coulombe of Exclaim! stated that the album "feels like a return to form" and "contrary to The Wilderness, there are no formless ambient numbers to quell the energy between the more consistent, epic compositions".[8]
