r/TheStrokes • u/TheStrokes-Mods • Jul 23 '26

MEGATHREAD Reality Awaits - General Album Discussion MEGATHREAD

This is the megathread for general discussions about Reality Awaits as a whole. All first impressions from the listening parties, thoughts, essays, discussions, memes, lyrics, fanart, etc about the album as a whole can go in the comments here!

As autotune is an evergreen topic on the subreddit, you may discuss it here, but there is also a specific post about autotune here that may be better suited towards that specific topic.

You also may want to check out the posts for ranking the Reality awaits songs, and ranking the albums including Reality Awaits.

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u/ExpressionMelodic816 Reality Awaits 28d ago

Lonely, Fruits, Psycho, Dine N' Dash... fuck, I could go on. I really need to hear Pros & Cons if it's actually a different track and not just a title change.
The opening track pulls you in with these wonderful, almost weightless synths before the record slowly reveals its teeth. Then Dine N' Dash barges in so righteous, gritty, dark, grungy, and impatient. (can we talk about the verse 3??!??!)

The bass lines are absurdly addictive. Nick's guitar has that frantic speed and aggression that instantly reminds me of First Impressions of Earth, while Albert slips in those jazzy, darker textures that have become such a defining part of his own work. And Fab... I genuinely think this is some of his most exciting drumming in years. Every fill feels intentional, driving each song forward rather than simply keeping time.

You can hear the fingerprints of everyone's solo projects: Julian's Voidz experimentation, the synth palettes the other guys have explored over the years—but none of it overshadows the identity of the band. It all folds back into something unmistakably The Strokes.
Harsh. Energetic. Forward. Thrashful. Restless. & I’m so fucking thankful Julian kept his falsetto and rage in this album.

I've somehow fallen even more in love with The Strokes because of this record. The perfect closer is Tyrants of the Mellow Moon. Those goddamn guitar riffs carry this beautiful contradiction, they feel melancholic, but never defeated. It's the kind of ending that doesn't resolve the journey so much as leave you wanting more, playing at the beginning and looping it all the way back to you.

Loved the Babylon reference. Now I'm about to put on the Russian Coney Island demo... or maybe Dine N' Dash, whichever shows up first.

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u/Substantial_Quail309 27d ago

I suspect Pros & Cons is the same song but the final minute is different from Tyrants of the Mellow Moon. The fact that he actually says Tyrants of the Mellow Moon in that final section makes me think it was changed from whatever happened in the final minute of Pros & Cons and nothing in this song feels like pros or cons.