The Strokes, 2026; image credit: Johann Rashid

25 years after the release of their immortal debut album, the legendary NYC outfit continues to evolve beyond the expectations of their listeners, with their first studio record in six years providing fresh life to a band seemingly both unwilling and unable to cling on to their roots. 

The new record sees the band reunited with producer Rick Rubin, who oversaw the huge success of their previous album, 2020’s Grammy Award-winning The New Abnormal, and with Reality Awaits being only their second release since 2013’s Comedown Machine, anticipation was high after the album’s announcement. Yet since the release of singles Going Shopping and Falling out of Love, there has been a quiet trepidation amongst both fans and critics in the run-up to Friday’s release. 

Anyone hoping for a return to the biting twin guitars and desperate vocals of early Strokes material received a slap in the face with the unveiling of the lead single in April. Going Shopping opens with a catchy guitar riff and a light synth rhythm, before frontman Julian Casablancas enters accompanied by the autotuned vocal effects that have left so many fans unable to get behind the apparent new direction of the band. 

In the context of Going Shopping, the effects work in such a way that they accentuate the easy, fun atmosphere the song creates. It is best summed up by the accompanying music video, filmed in the Canary Islands starring Hollywood actor Walton Goggins, alongside Casablancas himself. Filled with references to Paul Simon’s iconic video for You Can Call Me Al, it does well to paint a picture of the track’s fun yet sometimes confusing lyrics, as the layered vocal effects fall in and out of the catchy guitars. 

The real issues with the autotune come on tracks which put more emphasis on the vocals and the lyrics, with a perfect example being the second single, Falling Out of Love. This slow, emotive track about the end of a relationship should be one of the album’s defining moments, and perhaps it still is, but the vocal effects are layered so heavily that it becomes almost abrasive. 

It seems a massive shame that the gorgeous falsetto previously heard on tracks like Call It Fate, Call It Karma and Selfless is almost completely masked by autotune. Despite this, it is still one of the lyrical standouts of the record, as Julian fittingly sings in the chorus, “some things are flawed by design”. 

Continuing the theme of abrasiveness, however, is the album’s opener, Psycho Shit, which certainly lives up to its title. As a first track, it does a very good job of creating a strange atmosphere of not knowing what’s coming next, by spending over five minutes seemingly building up to something which never arrives. Thankfully, the record finds its feet after the once again heavily autotuned, wailing vocals of this track fade out. 

Dine ‘N’ Dash is excellent. The melodic opening riff is quickly met by a heavily distorted guitar, which offsets the soft melody operating throughout the track before exploding into a heavier finish, allowing an easy transition into the quicker-paced Lonely in the Future.  

Best described as effortlessly likeable pop, it offers a simple melody and tasteful instrumentation which works well with the vocal effects, once again proving their effectiveness on the quicker, more fun songs of the record. Next up is Falling out of Love, which admittedly works very well in an album context, sandwiched between tracks which are able to lighten the emotional load. 

Going to Babble On is a real highlight, as its soft vocals allow for it to be very easy listening, with another catchy hook leaving it stuck in the head of the listener after only a few repeats of the chorus. Going Shopping follows, again working well in the context of the album. 

The final three tracks of the record slow the pace down somewhat, with Liar’s Remorse bumbling along to more autotuned vocals amid quiet instrumentation, but this time without any real melody. The almost five minutes it takes up are quite forgettable, before the more obvious opening chord is struck on The Fruits of Conquest. 

As a more classic guitar-driven song, it becomes quite tasteful, featuring probably the most natural set of vocals heard anywhere on the album, up until an incredibly strange 30 seconds towards the end where Julian continually proclaims, “I’m a leech”, using some ridiculous effect layering to stretch his voice between a normal and an almost Darth Vader-esque low pitch. 

Closing track, Tyrants of the Mellow Moon, is unfortunately not quite as interesting as its title may suggest. Another slow-moving, synthetic-sounding plod, it flatters to deceive and fails to hold the interest of the listener in much the same way as the opener does, leaving Reality Awaits to fade out in an unfortunate anti-climax.  

When put in that context, it becomes easy to draw comparisons to The New Abnormal and point out that the opening and closing tracks of their previous record, The Adults are Talking and Ode to the Mets, are considerably better in every way, but that seems almost unfair. 

Is The Strokes’ new album as easily palatable as their previous offering? No. But it is obvious that that wasn’t the band’s intention when making this record. The vocal effects are a creative choice that any artist knows would leave a large portion of fans alienated, so the creative choice to use them, while also continuing to break away from the fast-paced rock of their early career, highlights a desire to evolve. 

Reality Awaits is a statement of intent to break away from any previous perceptions of the band. After six years away, The Strokes returned with an offering that contains some of the best melodic and instrumental material of their career, some rather dull moments, and some just plain bizarre.  

While it may not be what many expected to hear, it is a deliberate attempt to be different, and it does its job well. Reality Awaits has some great moments and is well worth a listen, even if it may not be as spectacular as some of the band’s previous offerings. 

Daniel Sutherland

Music Editor for the Strathclyde Telegraph 2026/27