The Strokes have officially announced their new album ‘Reality Awaits’, due this summer.
The New York band have not released a studio record since their sixth album ‘The New Abnormal’ in 2020, with the members having spent much of the time since then working on their respective individual projects.
They have been teasing their return in the last few weeks, however, and earlier today (April 6), they shared an official album teaser on their social media accounts.
The brief video features a 1980s Nissan 300ZX alongside the tagline, “In the flesh, it’s even sexier”. As guitar chords chime, the video reveals: “Reality Awaits. The new album by The Strokes. Out this summer.”
— The Strokes (@thestrokes) April 6, 2026
The announcement comes just days ahead of the band’s big shows at Coachella 2026, and they are set to play the second of two warm-up shows in San Francisco tonight (April 6). They will also be playing at various other US festivals, including Outside Lands and Just Like Heaven, as well as Japan’s Summer Sonic.
Back in 2022, Rick Rubin – who produced ‘The New Abnormal’ – confirmed that he was working on a new album with The Strokes, and had finished a recording session with them in Costa Rica. “It was incredible,” he recalled at the time. “And we did that every day, playing out in the [open], and they didn’t want to leave. It was, like, the best experience.”
In response, frontman Casablancas revealed that the group had “jammed and started some stuff”, but told fans that The Strokes’ next record was “extremely v far off” from being finished. “Check back in a year or [two] honestly,” he added.
Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr later recalled the “magical” new sessions with Rubin, and looked ahead to the band’s future. “I don’t think we’ve written our best songs yet,” he said. “I really feel that in my gut.”
During an interview with NME in spring 2023, Hammond Jr gave an update on the progress of The Strokes’ next full-length effort.
“I think [Rubin] was just so excited about where we recorded,” the musician told us of the producer’s revelation from the previous year. “But I don’t know what to say about it – I don’t have any information on it.
“It’s not like it’s happening and I’m hiding something. We went and did a bunch of recording. It could come out a year or two years from now – it’s an unknown amount of time when it’ll be finished but, yes, we are working on another record.”
Speaking to NME in 2020, the NYC indie icons suggested that they could “be a little quicker” to release their next album, following the seven-year gap between ‘Comedown Machine’ and ‘The New Abnormal’.
“I think we have a good thing going,” Casablancas told us. “We have a good relationship with Rick. In theory, knock on wood, we should be working faster.”
