Six years is a long time. Reality Awaits, The Strokes’ seventh studio album, dropped on July 24, 2026 via Cult Records/RCA Records — their first record since 2020’s The New Abnormal. A global tour runs alongside it, making this one of the bigger alternative rock comebacks in recent memory.
Rick Rubin produced the album, returning after working with the band on their last record. It’s nine tracks long. Lead single Going Shopping was played live before the album was even announced, then put on streaming platforms ahead of the full release. The rollout took longer than planned — the original June 26 date got pushed back nearly a month before landing on July 24.
This is not a metal record. The Strokes have never been, and Reality Awaits doesn’t change that. But their influence on guitar music runs wide. Tight songwriting, dry production, melodic restraint — these are things that cross genre lines, and they matter to listeners well outside the alternative rock bubble.
The six-year gap is the longest the band has gone between albums. The delayed release date adds to the sense that this one was handled carefully. What the album actually delivers — a familiar sound pushed forward, or something genuinely new — is the real question it puts on the table.
