The Strokes have dropped the latest preview of their new album, releasing the tender, slow-burning single ‘Falling Out Of Love’.
The New York indie icons started teasing new music earlier this year, hinting to fans that they would “be in touch” about a new release, before later confirming new album ‘Reality Awaits’.
Last month they announced that the highly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s ‘The New Abnormal’ would be arriving on June 26 (pre-order here) and dropped the chic lead single ‘Going Shopping’.
Today (Wednesday May 13), Julian Casablancas and co. have shared another track from the record, the tender ‘Falling Out Of Love’, which sees them tackle themes of heartbreak and finding comfort in your own company.
Taking on a more stripped-back, romantic feel than ‘Going Shopping’, the latest single sees the band lean into gentle, swirling guitar riffs and heartfelt vocals. “Took you out to my hometown/ Where I learned to be alone/ Riding up the mountainside/ Where all the world’s here,” Casablancas sings.
For the majority of the song, he uses a vocoder to give his voice that same distinctive sound as seen on the hit 2013 Daft Punk collab ‘Instant Crush’ and later tracks like 2020’s ‘At the Door’.
“Hiding out for a while/ Falling out of love for the first time/ Some things are flawed by design/ But I’m fine for the first time,” he yearns in the tender yet oddly-uplifting chorus. “Dancing in acid rain alone with you/ But I don’t wanna do it anymore/ I guess I’ll sing alone.”
‘Falling Out Of Love’ is the fourth song on the nine-song tracklist for ‘Reality Awaits’, and the album was recorded in Costa Rica with producer Rick Rubin before being finished in a number of international locations.
When ‘Going Shopping’ dropped last month, NME gave the single a three-star review and described it as a song that “doesn’t feel bold” but also “does avoid playing anything safe.”
“You couldn’t definitively place its sound on any of The Strokes’ previous six albums, but the lack of spirit and tenacity – save for a guitar solo at the end – is noticeable,” the review read. “‘If you’re better than me you don’t have to judge me’, signs off Casablancas, with an imaginary raised eyebrow. But perhaps even he would admit that The Strokes are better than this.”
Since the song was released, The Strokes have played at Coachella 2026 – where they called out the CIA and the United States government – and are now gearing up for more festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Summer Sonic and more.
They have also announced a huge tour visiting the UK, North America, Europe and Japan. It will be their first full run of headline dates in the UK and Ireland in over 20 years, and gigs include a stop at London’s O2. Support comes from Thundercat, Cage the Elephant, Hamilton Leithauser, Fat White Family, Alex Cameron and ÖLÜM, and you can find tickets here.
New music from the indie heroes comes after Casablancas spoke in 2024 about “stepping away” from the band to focus on his other group, The Voidz. He did add, however, that “it’s a very cool day job that I’m honoured to have, so I don’t feel negatively about it”.
As for what to expect from the new album, Rubin told The Joe Rogan Experience in 2022 that the band recorded the new music “on the top of a mountain” and “didn’t want to leave” because they were having “the best experience”.
Soon after, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. shared a similar take, revealing that it was “one of his favourite recording experiences”.
“I don’t think if I told you what it looked like and what it was, you’d fully understand the ‘magical-ness’ of where we were and how it was to record like that,” he said, also going on to discuss the band’s future.
“I really think what excites me about wanting to play music and continue doing it is, I don’t think we’ve written our best songs yet. I really feel that in my gut.”
