The Strokes have announced their first studio album in six years. The band have released the lead single “Going Shopping” and dropped a small teaser for the rest of the record. Many fans are wondering just what to expect from Reality Awaits.
2020’s The New Abnormal was a success both critically and commercially. As such, speculation is through the roof, and fans’ opinions are somewhat mixed about their upcoming album.
Who are The Strokes?
The Strokes are a New York City-born rock band often cited as one of the most critically acclaimed American rock bands of the 21st century thus far. Their 2001 debut album, Is This It, was placed at #114 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, while tracks like “Reptilia” and “Last Nite” remain staples of the United States’ indie rock scene in the early 2000s.
Alongside bands like The White Stripes and The Hives, The Strokes helped revive the popularity of raw, pulsating garage rock. However, also similar to their peers, they began to wane in popularity throughout the 2010s. 2020 changed things for the band, however. That year saw the release of their album The New Abnormal just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to swing into full effect. The album went on to win Best Rock Album at the Grammys and was their most successful release in nearly 20 years.
After The Strokes’ return to form at the start of the decade, many are hoping that their upward trajectory continues with Reality Awaits.
“Going Shopping” hints at The Strokes’ future
Reality Awaits‘ first (and so far only) single, “Going Shopping,” was initially only released to a mere 100 fans via cassettes that were physically mailed out to them. It was quickly uploaded to digital streaming platforms for the rest of their fanbase to hear.
Musically, “Going Shopping” latches on to many of the same musical qualities as The New Abnormal. The retro synthpop nostalgia of their last record is infused with jangly post-punk guitars and the lackadaisical talk-singing of Julian Casablancas.
From a lyrical perspective, “Going Shopping” also pulls from some of the same themes that The New Abnormal did by depicting a melancholic yet lively feeling of wanting something better out of life, but feeling suppressed by the social expectations of modern living. Being discontent with life under late-stage capitalism has been a staple of The Strokes’ music for most of their career.
Where the song massively changes up their formula is in the usage of Auto-Tune. It isn’t obvious within the first few moments of the song. Anybody who listens beyond the couple lines, though, will immediately recognize that the aforementioned Casablancas’ voice is occasionally caked in Auto-Tune. It feels like the last time his voice was this animatedly robotic was when he featured on Daft Punk’s “Instant Crush” back in 2013.
Naturally, “Going Shopping” has provided plenty of discourse for music fans and The Strokes’ fanbase. Some people seem to enjoy the continued, laidback direction of their music, while others have a hard time gelling with Casablancas’ newfound Auto-Tune fixation.
Fans’ reactions
Fans’ reactions have seemingly been quite mixed regarding “Going Shopping” thus far. Outlets like NME have given relatively positive, if not critical, reviews of the track. Meanwhile, community-based music rating websites like Rate Your Music have seen less favorable aggregate scores so far.
While the general consensus regarding “Going Shopping” and the rest of Reality Awaits will take months to settle in, it does feel as though The Strokes are having a much harder time garnering positive public perception for a relatively similar sound to The New Abnormal.
There could be several reasons as to why that is. Perhaps many were expecting another major leap forward for the band sonically. Hearing a group stagnate sonically can feel disheartening when they’ve previously proved themselves to be capable of evolving.
Another potential reason is that “Going Shopping” simply doesn’t feel like a single. It lacks the raw, fast-and-loose energy of their early work. It also never attempts to shoot for the more emotionally grand yet vulnerable soundscapes of their last record.
Even if “Going Shopping” does share plenty of musical traits with their last collection of songs, it feels much more like a deep cut meant to give Reality Awaits a bit of variety. As something intending to represent the entire record, it doesn’t feel like it does much to grip listeners. Surprisingly, the listeners with a heavier focus on Auto-Tune feel more like a gimmick than anything.
AI expectations
One of the biggest reasons that many people seem to struggle with Reality Awaits before it releases is due to accusations of AI art.
The accusations are admittedly rooted in the reality of the past. Julian Casablancas’ non-Strokes band The Voidz released the album Like All Before You in 2024 with AI-generated cover art. This was confirmed by Casablancas himself that same year. This was met with about as much controversy and push-back as you would expect.
When The Strokes began teasing their upcoming record on April 6th via a short video post on X (formerly known as Twitter), some fans noticed something slightly odd about it.
The teaser is based on an image of a retro car. Text quickly appears above it that states, “In The Flesh, It’s Even Sexier.” Some fans have posted in threads and under articles questioning whether or not the image was AI-generated. It is important to note that there is no confirmation of this. However, considering how similar the style is to the officially AI-generated artwork seen on the cover of Like All Before You, it doesn’t feel outside the realm of possibility.
Let the anticipation begin
Reality Awaits is slated to drop on June 26th. Until then, it will undoubtedly be one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year. Even if it doesn’t garner the same acclaim as The New Abnormal, Reality Awaits will still receive plenty of attention. Between talks of AI-generated art, a mixed critical/public reception, and the very sudden rollout, it is at least good to know that The Strokes are as frustrating yet fascinating as ever.
