The Strokes – ‘Reality Awaits’ album review: backlash won’t write them off just yet
Quite often, when a major artist announces that they’re releasing a new album, there will be a sense of febrile anticipation. In the case of The Strokes, the general feeling surrounding Reality Awaits has not been one of eagerness, but more one of dread.
The Skinny: It would be fair to say that frontman Julian Casablancas has whipped up a fair amount of criticism and concern over his artistic choices in the past decade and a half, with every release by the band and by his side project, The Voidz, since 2005’s First Impressions of Earth, coming under intense scrutiny from fans and critics alike. The first two Strokes albums, Is This It and Room On Fire, were hailed as era-defining rock records from the get-go, and the slight disappointment of their third album proved that they were fallible, capable of producing something that delivered below expectations.
Henceforth, there have been doubts about where Casablancas will head next, and even though worries have been quashed on many occasions, such as with their 2020 album, The New Abnormal, the way Reality Awaits has been treated in advance of its release has come with immense scepticism. It probably didn’t help that he and the Voidz opted to issue their 2024 album, Like All Before You, with an AI-generated cover that alienated members of the fanbase who thought better of him, but the album also saw him double down on the usage of the perennially controversial vocal manipulation technique of autotune.
It’s always seemed as though the Voidz has purely existed as a vehicle for Casablancas to justify any forthcoming left turns that The Strokes might want to take, which has only ramped up this foreboding anxiety among fans. It’s worth noting that many people scoffed at the over-the-top nature of the group’s 11-minute debut single, ‘Human Sadness’, upon release, only to U-turn on it years later and recognise it as one of the finest songs Casablancas has ever produced.
Despite this, many people decided before hearing a single second of Reality Awaits that it would be a trainwreck, figuring that the once unshakeable Casablancas had tipped over the edge and lost whatever magic he had in the first place. The appearance of autotune on lead singles ‘Going Shopping’ and ‘Falling out of Love’ did little to convince people that the record would be salvageable in any way, and therefore any expectations that had remained simmering were all but left to stagnate.
The thing is, while people have expected Reality Awaits to be a radical departure from the idealised version of The Strokes that have been known and loved for 25 years, things aren’t actually all that different. Does it have the same bite that their instant classic debut had? No, not exactly, but just because the guitars aren’t an angular slap in the face doesn’t mean that the songwriting or musicality is devoid of inspiration; it just means that they’ve chosen to evolve and write in a different style, and for the most part, it’s a flattering fit.
Yes, Casablancas uses autotune – and so what? You can argue that, unlike those who use it ‘artfully’ and as a tool for mutating their already pristine vocals, such as Justin Vernon and Thom Yorke, Casablancas relies on it as a crutch to hide the imperfections in his delivery, but that rawness is still there in places. If Casablancas wants to embellish his distinctive style, more akin to how Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner has been doing over the course of the last decade, it can stop being the primary focus.
This aside, the production choices made by Rubin, who also worked with the band on The New Abnormal, are generally tasteful and balance the artificial with the organic. Expecting a band to remain sonically stationary for the entirety of their existence, especially if they’ve evidently proven themselves to be capable of defying this preconceived notion of what they ought to sound like in astounding ways before, is a tiresome way of trying to engage with art. Freedom to explore ought to be encouraged, not restricted.
Lyrically, Casablancas may not be as easily able to muster up lines that will be repurposed as mantras to live by for diehard fans, and there are moments where his commentary comes off as clunky or forced. Some songs fall flat as a result of being built around rudimentary hooks, and yes, the vocals can be grating, but any pair of lenient ears should be able to recognise that in spite of its flaws, this is still pretty damn solid.
Standout Track: ‘Dine and Dash’
The Verdict: For anyone concerned that Reality Awaits would serve as the death knell for The Strokes’ credibility or existence, the truth is that there are still flashes of virtually everything they’ve done before, plus new ideas that they’re keen to experiment with to keep things fresh. But hey, you’ve already made your mind up, haven’t you?
Release Date: July 23rd, 2026 | Producers: Rick Rubin | Label: RCA
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.