At the start of the 2020s, when the 20-year nostalgia cycle caught up with The Strokes, their newfound teenage fans not only had the band’s undeniable first two albums to spin, but also the recently released The New Abnormal, a Grammy-winner produced by Rick Rubin. In the years since, The Strokes’ popularity has continued to grow—they even played right before Justin Bieber on Coachella’s main stage in 2026. On Reality Awaits, another Rubin collaboration, The Strokes return to their mid-period predilection for upending expectations and indulging bandleader Julian Casablancas’ creative impulses. Casablancas has always had a thing for vocal effects and here, he goes full tilt, employing AutoTune as a stylistic tool on multiple tracks. He also ad-libs in an over-the-top English accent a few times and repeats, “I’m a leech” over and over on “The Fruits of Conquest”. The many ingredients on album closer “Tyrants of the Mellow Moon” include Radiohead vibes, a brief ’80s-toned guitar solo and a Jim Morrison-esque spoken word outro. Lyrically, Casablancas wonders what to make of The Strokes’ refound relevance, knowing that any monument they make may eventually be forgotten. On “Going Shopping”, the album’s first single, he sings, “I’ve been thinking about what I wanna say/But I’m an old man, at least that’s what they tell me anyway.” Time will tell.
