The Strokes Announce New Rick Rubin-Produced Album Reality Awaits

The Strokes have announced the release of their seventh studio album, Reality Awaits, which is scheduled to arrive on June 26, 2026. The project, released through Cult Records and RCA, marks the band’s first full-length studio effort since 2020’s The New Abnormal.

Produced by Rick Rubin, the album was recorded in Costa Rica. Rubin previously mentioned the recording process during a 2022 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The announcement of the album was made via Instagram on April 6, 2026, accompanied by a teaser video featuring a 1980s Nissan 300ZX and the text In the flesh, it’s even sexier.

Lead Single and Promotional Rollout

The band released the lead single, Going Shopping, on streaming platforms on April 7, 2026. The track features Julian Casablancas utilizing heavy AutoTune on his vocals. Prior to the digital release, the Strokes distributed cassette tapes containing the song to 100 fans who had signed up for the band’s promotional SMS service during the previous week.

The song also received its live debut on April 6, 2026, during a performance at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The album’s visual identity has also been revealed, with the cover art featuring the 1989 photograph (Untitled) Cowboy by Richard Prince.

Album Structure and Track Listing

Reality Awaits consists of nine new songs. The confirmed track listing for the album is as follows:

• Psycho Shit
• Dine N’Dash
• Lonely in the Future
• Falling Out of Love
• Going to Babble On
• Going Shopping
• Liar’s Remorse
• The Fruits of Conquest
• Pros and Cons

The album serves as the follow-up to The New Abnormal, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. That 2020 release had ended a seven-year gap following 2013’s Comedown Machine.

Band Lineup and Internal Tensions

The return to recording and touring comes amid apparent instability within the band’s lineup. Guitarist Nick Valensi was absent from a performance at San Francisco’s Warfield on a recent Saturday, as well as the April 6 show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Valensi has been replaced for these dates by Steve Schlitz, the former leader of the band Longwave. Schlitz previously filled in for Valensi during a performance in Las Vegas in September 2025.

The absence follows indications of a rift between Casablancas, and Valensi. In a November 2025 interview on the Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast, Casablancas implied that he and Valensi were no longer on speaking terms.

Touring and Future Projects

The Strokes are returning to a more active live schedule after a period of limited activity; the band performed only six times across 2024 and 2025. The group is slated to perform major sets through late September at several festivals, including:

• Coachella
• Bonnaroo
• Outside Lands
• Shaky Knees
• Sea.Hear.Now
• Tokyo’s Summer Sonic

In addition to the work with the Strokes, Casablancas has spent several months at Flux Studios in New York working on a new album for his side project, the Voidz, though a release date for that project has not been announced.