Reality Awaits

After working with producer Rick Rubin on their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal (2020), the band began recording with him again two years later in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Rubin confirmed his involvement in a 2022 interview,^[3] stating: "It's like [the Strokes are] doing a concert for the ocean, on the top of a mountain […] And we did that every day, playing out in the [open], and they didn’t want to leave. It was, like, the best experience."^[4]

Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. elaborated, noting: "It was really cool to go back to the studio with [Rubin] after The New Abnormal. There’s no like hidden agenda or secret – we were recording in Costa Rica. [...] There is stuff that we’re working on that we are excited about. We are continually working, and that brings us joy. In my own words: we got to record in the most fantastical environment I have ever been able to record in. It was very exciting for me, and for all of us."^[4] Hammond Jr. went on to describe the sessions as: "a little looser in a sense of our style."^[4]

Prior to the album's release, Hammond Jr. noted: "It’s my favourite album we’ve ever done. I can’t express how beautiful it is. I listen to the whole thing and wanna start from the beginning again. It grows and grows and becomes intoxicatingly good."^[5]

The cover art for Reality Awaits, created by Johann Rashid, is based on the 1989 photograph Untitled (Cowboy) by Richard Prince.^[6]

On April 6, 2026, the Strokes announced Reality Awaits via Instagram, with a teaser video displaying a 1980s Nissan 300ZX with text reading "In the flesh, it's even sexier", followed by the album's title and release date announced for June 26.^[7] On the same day, the band distributed cassette tapes containing the new song "Going Shopping" to 100 fans who had provided their mailing address to their promotional SMS service the previous week.^[8][9] They also debuted the song live at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.^[10] The following day, they revealed the album's cover art and released the track onto streaming platforms as the album's lead single.^[6] On May 13, the band released the second single "Falling Out of Love" on streaming platforms.^[11] On June 11, the band announced that the release date had been delayed to July 24.^[12]

Concurrently with the album, the band released In Transit: Part II, a 10-minute documentary directed by Johann Rashid following the recording of Reality Awaits with Rick Rubin in Costa Rica. The title is a reference to the short film In Transit, which documented the band 25 years prior, during its 2001 European tour in support of The Modern Age EP.^[13]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Any Decent Music	6.6/10[14]
Metacritic	71/100[15]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]
The Arts Desk	[17]
Clash	7/10[18]
Consequence	B+[19]
The Guardian	[20]
NME	[21]
Paste	B[22]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Slant	[25]

Close

Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average^[26] score of 6.6 out of 10 from nineteen critic scores.^[14] According to Metacritic, it received "generally favorable" reviews based on a weighted average^[27] score of 71 out of 100 from seventeen critic scores.^[15]

Rolling Stone writer Jon Dolan, gave a weighted score of 3/5 stars. In the article, he wrote, "The veteran band’s latest album is an at times thrilling, often inscrutable, sometimes straight-up bizarre addition to their story."^[24]

Personnel taken from the album's liner notes.^[28]