The Strokes Confirm Seventh Album ‘Reality Awaits’ for June Release

The Strokes have outlined the next phase of their long, winding career. Their seventh studio album, titled ‘Reality Awaits’, is scheduled for release on June 26th via Cult Records and RCA Records.

This confirms the first proper follow-up to 2020’s ‘The New Abnormal’, which itself arrived after a seven-year gap. The band reportedly began work on the new material in 2022, opting to record in Costa Rica under the production guidance of Rick Rubin. This pairing suggests a deliberate shift in process, moving from the collaborative tension of working with producer Paul Vassallo on the last album to Rubin’s famed minimalist, vibe-oriented approach.

The lead single, ‘Going Shopping’, offers an initial glimpse. It’s a relaxed, mid-tempo track built on a steady bass pulse and Julian Casablancas’s characteristically detached, melodic murmur. The sonic atmosphere is breezy and uncluttered, a far cry from the compressed garage-rock urgency of their early work. It feels like a continuation of the more polished, mature songwriting explored on ‘The New Abnormal’, but with a lighter, almost tropical touch that may reflect its recording environment.

The announcement arrives after a period of archival activity, specifically the 2023 box set ‘The Singles – Volume 01’, which curated their iconic early-aughts output. The contrast between that era-defining collection and the new direction implied by ‘Going Shopping’ is stark. It underscores a band that has long since traded the uniform of downtown New York rock revivalists for a more eclectic and unpredictable identity.

With live dates including Coachella on the horizon, ‘Reality Awaits’ positions The Strokes not as nostalgic headliners, but as a still-active studio entity. The involvement of Rubin is the album’s most intriguing variable, promising a focus on foundational songcraft and stripped-back arrangements. Whether this results in a cohesive late-career statement or simply another curious detour remains to be heard. For now, the confirmation itself is the news, marking another chapter for a band that operates entirely on its own intermittent schedule.