Reality Awaits

Above the law, a political puppet.

From the 2026 album Reality Awaits, that was The Strokes with Going Shopping.

Um, there will be other people who like that song, uh, Bobby, um, because I have quite a big crossover with the Sombrero Fallout, uh, podcast, which I'm sure you've heard me mention before on here.

Yeah.

A bizarre memory I have of seeing Hammond backstage at the same festival, watching, of all things, the Connacht football final between Galway and Mayo.

Writing mildly enthusiastic reviews of certain later Strokes records, including this year's Reality Awaits, which truthfully I'm unlikely to revisit much in the future.

Overall then, the Strokes legacy seems to have settled on something akin to the Sex Pistols, the band who revolutionised rock with an immortal debut that will be cherished forever.

Is this it? We ask again.

But also there was this whole new generation of people that latched on to them in the same way that when I was a kid, I latched on to.

classic rock bands from the 70s I mean I was like a Rolling Stones fan and a Zeppelin fan when I was a teenager and those were much older bands obviously than what my generation was but you know the Strokes really connected I think with Gen Z and you know I saw the Strokes this summer on their tour in support of their latest record Reality Awaits and it was all young people around me I was clearly the oldest person there.

I was like the adult chaperone for this audience.

It was all 15 to 25 year olds, people that weren't even born for the most part when the first record came out.

And I thought that was a really fascinating thing to witness.

Well, let's hear a little bit from that album.

It's called Reality Awaits, produced by Rick Rubin.

And here's the album's lead single, Going Shopping.

Right

... is the opening track on The Strokes' seventh studio album, Reality Awaits, which was produced by beardy Rick Rubin, and released on July the 24th 2026.

Brace yourselves for an expression of how utterly ruined and pointless the music charts are in 2026.

According to the data reported by Hits, the American music industry trade publication, the album earned 29,991 album equivalent units in its first week in the United States, comprising 17,934 album sales, 11,983 sweep, streaming equivalent albums, and 74 track equivalent albums, which perhaps Hannah can explain what that all means.

The Strokes have a brand new album out.

It's called Reality Awaits.

I thought I would pick it up to see what they're doing these days.

And I like this track, Going to Babylon.

And what if Valency's absence alters the sound of their new material? That could be a big deal.

Speaking of new material, have you heard their latest album, Reality Awaits? It's been getting solid reviews.

I did.

The reviews say they sound more alive and locked in than ever.

They were last here in 2022, so it's a long time since they've been here.

This is off the back of their latest album as well, Reality Awaits.

which is very, very exciting.

I hope I get to see them play live.

They're leveraging the buzz around the Strokes.

Speaking of buzz, I saw that NME gave Reality Awaits 4 Stars.

That's quite the endorsement.

Yeah, it's interesting because they noted how the Strokes sound more alive than they have in years.