Overnight fame early in one’s career can be a difficult cross to bear. The Strokes stuck the landing on their very first try with Is This It twenty-five years ago, and nearly every release since has followed a similar trajectory in public perception. First, people hate it (“Not as good as Is This It!”); then it grows on them; and finally, in hindsight, the album is heartily accepted as a beloved addition to the discography. It happened to First Impressions of Earth (2006). It happened to Angles (2011). Hell, it even happened to Room on Fire (2003) which is basically an extended cut of Is This It.
It’s no surprise, then, that Reality Awaits has received a lukewarm response at best. Yes, it’s not as approachable as its predecessor, the Grammy-winning The New Abnormal (2020). Yes, it’s more “Voidz-forward” than most of the Strokes’ output so far. But nowhere on this seventh album do the Strokes compromise on the quality of their sound. Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. on interlocked guitars, Fab Moretti’s metronomic drums, Julian Casablancas’ melodic vocals, Nikolai Fraiture’s tight bass – it’s all there, as perfectly in-step as it was twenty-five years ago. In fact, their sound is arguably more multi-faceted and confident now than it’s ever been.
And sure, let’s get this out of the way first: the Autotune. For the most part (and this may sound like a hot take if you gave up on the album after the jump-scare opener “Psycho Shit”), the Autotune is rather tastefully applied. When Casablancas uses it sparingly as a conscious vocal effect – as on “Going Shopping” or on “Lonely in the Future” – it offers a lackadaisical nonchalance that’s not that different from his classic distortion sound on Is This It or Room on Fire.
It’s also fair to say that there are parts of the album where the Autotune overshadows everything else. “Falling out of Love” features devastating lyrics about drifting away from a person who was probably the love of your life; unfortunately, the egregious Autotune over the song’s entire runtime shrouds everything in an impenetrable cloak of detachment. Album closer “Tyrants of the Mellow Moon” feels hastily stitched together between Autotune-heavy laments and more natural vocals, giving the uncomfortable feel of a human-robot duet.
That being said, it’s important to note that Casablancas’ vocal modulation is always an active artistic choice, rather than a cover-up for a lack of vocal ability. This is unlike, for example, Charli xcx, who freely admits that she uses Autotune out of laziness.
Now that that’s out of the way – Reality Awaits is jam-packed with some of the best songs that the band has ever created. Thematically, the album centers on a Casablancas favorite: the perils and effects of late-stage capitalism. “Dine N’Dash” features moody guitars and Moretti’s machine-like drums around the concept of consuming your way through life without the intention to pay – like the pop-culture trope of millennials endlessly window-shopping on Zillow. “Going Shopping” is an irresistible, summery track with a sharp commentary on the so-called “little treat economy”; it’s no coincidence that they got Walmart ambassador Walton Goggins to star in the music video.
“Lonely in the Future” is a sparkly, fun diss track about unoriginality and lack of artistic appreciation in the music industry. On the bare-bones (no drums!) “Liar’s Remorse”, Casablancas traverses a bewitching array of melodies while commenting on people increasingly absolving themselves of emotional agency (“Listen to the AI tell you what to do today” is not even a farfetched concept anymore).
“Going to Babble On” is probably the most “old-school Strokes” song on the album, full of tight instrumentals and beautiful melodies that keep you hooked from start to finish; never mind that Casablancas is critiquing the lack of critical thinking in society today (“Doesn’t anybody wanna know what’s going on?”). The funky, alluring “Fruits of Conquest” presents a handful of interesting ideas – bongos, an almost bossa-nova groove, and the seeds of defiance (“They don’t obey so we won’t obey”).
In short, Reality Awaits is perfectly named: an eyes-wide-open distillation of what’s happening out in the real world today. Musically, it’s a great continuation from The New Abnormal and, for fellow side-project enjoyers, from the Voidz’ Virtue (2018). Every listen rewards with another layer of the band’s ever-evolving sound: the secret to their continued relevance for twenty-five years and counting. And if you’re still not feeling up to it – well, to quote Julian: “You don’t get it, it’s a pity / Maybe you’ll catch up sooner rather than later.”
Rating: 8.5/10
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