Reality Awaits

The Strokes

The kings of the New York indie revival are officially back. The Strokes have announced that their highly anticipated seventh studio album, titled 'Reality Awaits'.

 

Marking their first full-length release since 2020’s Grammy-winning The New Abnormal, the album signals a bold new chapter for the band. Much of the record was tracked in Costa Rica under the guidance of legendary producer Rick Rubin. This reunion suggests a continuation of the spacious, synth-inflected textures found on their previous work, but with a tropical, experimental twist.

 

Frontman Julian Casablancas delivers some of his most vulnerable and cryptic performances to date, drifting between detached observations and emotional urgency. The first taste of the project, the single “Going Shopping,” debuted live at San Francisco's Warfield before its official digital release. The track is a breezy, laid-back departure from their high-energy indie anthems, reflecting an album obsessed with the concept of "the real" in an increasingly digital world.

 

The album's cover art, designed by Johann Rashid Johann, is based on Richard Prince’s iconic 1989 "Untitled (Cowboy)" and underlines the pointed commentary on authenticity that mirrors the album's title.