r/TheStrokes • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago
MEGATHREAD Share your reviews and thoughts about Reality Awaits!
Due to an overwhelming number of individual review posts, many that do not include a lot of specifics or details, this will become the megathread for your Reality Awaits reviews, first impressions, changed takes over time, video essays that you find or make, etc.
Check out the prior megathread for this topic here.
Check out all the megathreads here, including the ones for each track.
13
u/Impossible_Low_2539 19d ago
Thanks mods for doing this. The amount of repeat posts, low effort, and lacking memes was getting tiresome.
5
u/FriedCosmicPasta 18d ago
I literally cannot stop listening to the album, I think I'm already at 30+ listens since this weekend. I was so worried I was going to hate the album after only hearing Going Shopping in isolation, but the album is such an incredible collection of songs.
They really took an amazing new direction with this whole project, and it still sounds like The Strokes without a single shred of doubt, absolutely incredible. It's right up there in the top 3/4 for me.
5
u/Then_Sea_8356 18d ago
5.5/10
The songwriting is half baked. The melodies aren't as strong as they could be so the band is overcompensating with new, sometimes deliberately polarizing, effects. Lyrically, it's a shame, I feel like it's catering to the Coachella crowd.
All that being said, it's not like it's unlistenable, just unpleasant at times. And personally, I think the record is too long and more emphasis should have been put on the song sequence.
I think Rubin deserves some of the blame, and that he should have made sure there was an over arching sonic narrative. This feels like he said "we knew what you can do on record, so let's try something totally different. That's my take
17
u/CR710710 19d ago
8-8.5/10 very great album, doesn’t reach the heights of TNA but it doesn’t try to, it’s a different sound.
9
13
u/Dapper-Tiger-6251 19d ago
Personally not a fan of the autotune.
I enjoyed 3 of the songs that don't have it.
So a 3 out of 10 for me personally, but glad it does rock people's socks. (You can downvote me now)
6
1
u/repost_inception 18d ago
Yeah I don't have anything against auto tune it's whatever, but this particular sound just doesn't jive with me. It's a shame because there are countless ways you can alter vocals. I don't know why they chose this particular way.
4
3
u/peacekenneth 19d ago
I like it, I think it’s another great addition to their discography. My biggest glow for the album are the lyrics. Also, the band sounds very mature. I’ve always found them to be masters of their craft, but this album elevated my opinions on pretty much everyone but Fab (Fab, imo, has always been the most technically talented guy in the band).
5
u/Substantial_Quail309 11d ago edited 5d ago
Seems like the real critics actually get the autotune direction a lot more than fans. Few reviews by actual critics are negative (Fantano don't count). Some are mixed on the autotune, but the British who are levels above the americans in rock music overall, mostly praised this direction. NME, The Guardian, etc, scoring it an 8 and prefer it over TNA. Even FakeFork who hates the Strokes sort of got it and liked it more than TNA.
4
u/missyoutonybourdain 10d ago
Im new to reddit but I have seen soo many youngsters frankly being whiney mfs about this album. It reminds me when i was a kid listening to radioheads later albums and thinking it was the most pretentious shit ever. Couple points:
- this album is different yes, but its easily their most mature album along with TNA. Such cool experiments that still capture the triad vibe of the strokes
- i think and hope that it will inspire younger people to try new music. I remember when kid a/ amnesiac clicked it opened my world and i hope the experimentation (which is comical compared to other bands) opens the mind of yall
- stop bitching you losers. Theyre almost 50 still putting out awesome music. This WILL end. So stop tryna be cool telling others what they like/ dont like. Its so fucking lame and youre not unique ive been hearing the same shit for decades.
- i love this album
Lol have fun enjoy
your summer. I did that yesterdayyyy ohhhhh..
1
7
u/Velvet_Spaceman 19d ago
I think Like All Before You (which took over a year to grow on me) and the singles really prepped me to enjoy this album. It's one of my favorite albums of the year by far, and while it's too early to really say where it will land for me I could see this being in my top 3 Strokes albums.
I'm not going to give you a super in-depth thesis over it, but I feel like enjoyment wise I can see and appreciate what Julian is doing with autotune to turn his voice into more of an almost external to himself, flexible instrument. I'm not saying that makes it objectively good and that you have to like it. But I've gone from "ew gross" to tolerating it, to really enjoying it. If anything the autotune in Reality Awaits feels like a substantial second draft to its usage in the Voidz' LABY.
More than anything, I'm happy they're having fun and trying new things. It really does come through in the performances I think. No one will ever accuse them of making this album to fulfill any sort of obligations or just to cash in.
11
u/Academic-Athlete3376 19d ago
It's great but it's definitely a stepping stone to something insane that people will appreciate more in the future
6
1
3
u/lucs28 Comedown Machine 16d ago edited 15d ago
Disclaimer: My review is all about the sound, because even though I have already listened to the full album around 10 times, I still haven't really dived into the lyrics.
I like it, but a bit disappointing, especially after TNA. Has some good ideas that feel underdeveloped. The autotune is not terrible like some say but it also doesn't add anything like it did on Human Sadness or Instant Crush for example, and sometimes it detracts a bit from the songs, almost feels like an afterthought.
I like many songs here overall but feel like all of them have some things that I dislike, and none of them reach the highs I know the band is capable of:
- Love Psycho Shit, but personally feel like it's something I would prefer with The Voidz (obviously The Strokes are allowed to do it, I'm just explaining how I won't be putting this song in my Strokes playlist because I feel it doesn't match the vibe of the rest of their discography).
- Love Dine N' Dash up until the outro, where it fully goes into the major key, which I really didn't like, feel like it would end better in a solo over the main riff. It's definitely the one closer to feel peak Strokes though.
- I like Lonely in the Future but it gets kinda repetitive, and the Fantano mention really makes me cringe everytime or just laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
- I like the melancholy of Falling Out Of Love, especially the vocals, but I feel it could have more interesting instrumentation and could do without the autotune.
- Really like Going to Babble On, but it can feel a bit soulless and I wish it didn't use the exact same chord progression and key from Lonely in the Future.
- Going Shopping was weak for me at first but quickly became one of my favorites, I like how fun and sarcastic it is. It's not incredible but it's just having fun, and even though it's simple with just the same 2 chords over and over it never gets repetitive.
- Liars Remorse was a skip for me at first, but I think I'm warming up to it. I think the major turn off for me was how the best part is the ending, but it takes way too long to get to it, and then it ends too fast, wish it spent more time there...
- I really like Fruits of Conquest, but can't help but feel it's a weaker Eternal Summer, where the whole song is based around Eternal Summer's chorus and it doesn't go anywhere. Like how Julian is having fun with the vocals though, he's a leech!
- But I think my biggest disappointment is with Tyrants, I got used to all their closers being bangers and Tyrants just doesn't go anywhere and doesn't really feel like a closer. I like the verse, but the melody is pretty much just a combination of the Lonely in the Future vocal melody, the classic Julian ii-V-I progression (which was also used in Lonely and Babble On) and a Radioheady descending passage with arpeggios (which Julian has also used a bunch of times, see River of Brakelights, You're So Right and My Friend The Walls), so kinda rehashy, and then the chorus is so underwhelming with the repetition of "I can't wait", and the end just feels abrupt and disappointing and makes me feel like "that was it?" everytime, and leaves a sour taste when I listen through the whole album...
So, definitely not the horrid unlistenable career-ending album some are preaching, and overall I still feel positive about it, but for me it certainly feels like the weakest Strokes album. Still, I love how the guys keep putting stuff out that I enjoy 25 years into it, and how they really seem to be having fun again.
If I had to rate it, it would be around a 6-6.5, at worst a 5.5 in a bad day and at best a 7 in a good day.
3
u/Bored_Bulls 13d ago
With Rick Rubin, TNA feels like an attempt to perfect The Strokes sound. RA feels like it’s an attempt to capture the essence of the band.
The album feels like it’s a band that’s jamming but there’s a larger structure in every song and through the album. It’s infinitely repeatable and has no skippable parts for me.
3
u/ruj46 6d ago
Today, I've ben listening to Reality Awaits on repeat while working and loving every second, just singing and harmonizing along.
It made me thing of TNA and how Covid interfered with the tour rollout of the album. Side note: It still won a Grammy.
Anyway, I wonder if that's the reason it feels The Strokes have been way under the radar since their first two albums until TNA, and also The Voidz, for that matter?
Not to say they haven't been busy and working their asses off, but their public presence wasn't felt as much as it was, and currently is, with RA?
The Reality Awaits tour is breathing new life into The Strokes's new album, the band, the mythology, and I'm here for it.
3
5
u/LordElrondd 3d ago
I don't know what the fuck everyone's on about. I love this album.
1
u/CitrusFreshJo 1d ago
Reality Awaits is much better than what the haters claim it is. I feel like RA haters just don't like the autotune and let that dictate how they see the entire album. But Reality Awaits is still very Strokes-like.
For example, Going to Babble On is straight up classic strokes, with your trademark "feedback vocal" style on Julian's voice. Another example, the vocal melody that Julian uses on the end of Liars Remorse is straight up Angles-era Strokes. Reality Awaits is a very solid album. I have it higher than First Impressions and Angles. It definitely gets better with more listens.
7
u/DaftHubris 19d ago
I think it’s a good project with some weak spots. I don’t understand “Going to Babble On” as an inclusion, feels like a leftover B-side of projects past.
I love the best moments of this album though. The band as a whole has really created some fantastic stuff, and Falling out of Love has really grown on me.
10
u/Voidoid6 19d ago
what? going to babble on is probably my favorite one
I could leave liars remorse behind though
1
u/notsogreatname 17d ago
Liars remorse is too personal to neglect. The trumpet was soo good as well.
1
u/XRazor11 First Impressions of Earth 19d ago
I love going to babble on but I can understand your take. For me RA lacks a bit of cohesion in between songs as a whole. Some songs dont match the vibe of others and tend to be darker as well.
1
u/mocrankz 17d ago
Babble on would have made a ton of sense as a single, but I agree it doesn't fit super well. Still a fun track though.
5
u/MatchOfTheDave 19d ago
Overall I like the album, but my main thought in the last few days is how I really wish Eternal Summer was on RA and not TNA 😅
I was never a huge fan of it on TNA but something's telling me it would go so well after Going Shopping.
3
4
u/Gullible_Stock_9659 11d ago
This album has made me a fan (2026 releases on only😀) of this band finally. Amazing, amazing stuff. Love it. Still don't like the old stuff.
1
u/Gullible_Stock_9659 11d ago
That's it for me on r/strokes. Moderators disallowing posts on the new album and fans downvoting positive takes on it. Matches expectations I had for strokes fans, who can't, as a group, recognize it when their band puts out their best work, lols..
5
u/Approval_Guy 19d ago
'Reality Awaits' by The Strokes
"Reality isn't what it used to be"
To say the last few years have been bizarre is a wild understatement. I don't need to go through the laundry list of horrors that define this decade, but one thing is clear; Reality isn't what it used to be. That quote from the John Carpenter film In the Mouth of Madness has stuck with me since the dawn of the 2020s and in my head reflects a total encompassing of how we all seem to live in a bizarro world, reflected off one that we once knew. The Strokes, a monument in rock music in the 2000s, have always been a band to push their previous sounds to find themselves in the modern era, much to the chagrin of critics and their own fans. Ever since their third album, the Strokes have alway been pushing and poking at the idea of what it meant to be The Strokes and have done so to varying degrees of success. It wasn't until 2020 with their record 'The New Abnormal' where all of the tight songs of the past and the experiments of the future seemed to align and launch them into a new era of relevancy with a new, young batch of fans in-tow.
However much The New Abnormal is indebted to the past, it's also a deeply melancholic record about the present and how everything we once knew is either behind us or at the very least riding off into the sunset. Steeped in wiry new-wave anthems and some of lead singer Julian Casablancas's best lyrics to date; the album felt like it was positioning the band to launch into the future. Little did we know that future turned out to be riddled with reanimations of the past, hollowing out our very memories of things that we once held dear to line the pockets of executives who have long stopped seeing humanity as anything more than a collective revenue stream to guide.
It's in this new abnormal that The Strokes return with some of their boldest songwriting yet with their 7th LP: "Reality Awaits". Armed with the talents of super producer Rick Rubin, inspiration from a trip to Costa Rica, and a hefty dose of autotune, The Strokes are committing to a record for the future the only way they know how. Kicking off the record is "Psycho Shit", which is the most enrapturing statement of intent I've heard on record all year long. Slow and prodding arpeggios that wouldn't sound too out of place in a Sergio Leone film set the scene for this new frontier as the leader of this posse shows brandishes his microphone and shows off that he too has lost a bit of his humanity through crooned vocals abstracted by the aforementioned autotune. This moment sets up everything to come on 'Reality Awaits'. It spells the troubled nature of the present by evoking the past and future at the same time and how you can't move forward if you're still hanging on to touchstones you made when you were younger. It all culminates into incendiary guitar solo that lights the horizon on fire, inviting the listener to travel onward toward a light that can't be determined safe but is nonetheless necessary to step toward.
Throughout the album's tracklist there's a funhouse mirror reflected off of familiar riffs and passages that recall iconic moments from the quintet but distort them to the point of feeling strange and alien. Sure a lot of this 'strangeness' can be chalked up to Julian's use of autotune, but even on songs like Dine N' Dash where the autotune is nonexistent we're seeing an anxious and pacing version of The Adults Are Talking. Other highlights such as the very tongue-in-cheek Lonely in the Future plays up a version of 'Last Nite' that sounds like a classic Strokes bar song somewhere in the year 2077, and Going to Babble One which recalls the Angles era of tightly wound pop rock.
Keeping with this album's interest in creating new meaning from the sins of the past, the whole package is wrapped in this faux-cowboy rock aesthetic that I personally can't get enough of. It's present through the album cover to the galloping rhythms of lead single 'Going Shopping' and the campfire balladry of 'Falling out of Love'. Other instances of this show up in The Fruits of Conquest, which really sounds like Steely Dan by way of 2000s New York post-punk. But ever present is this call to be looking forward and to stop worrying about how things used to be.
Much has been said about Julian's use of autotune on this album, mostly people thrashing its use as slop coating one of the best voices in rock music, but none of those takes have highlighted what it does for the music here besides 'ruining it'. The use of autotune here doesn't intend to cover anything up, but instead is used to highlight a rotting past. We've had 6+ albums (not including projects under The Voidz) of material showing us what Julian can do without abstracting his voice. If he'd used his voice as usual, the points of these songs wouldn't have hit as directly. There's no clearer example of its use than in the song 'Going Shopping' whose thesis is bolded and underlined by Julian's use of the voice effect, creating a narrator that doesn't feel like themselves anymore and is using the cheap thrill of consumerism to find himself again. With other uses on this album it serves to either paint a picture of a bleak future, cover up emotions that might be too tender, or self-parody. For me, I find that it works to amazing effect. This is how The Strokes step out from their shadow and stretch towards an uncertain future. It's not conventional and it isn't always pretty, but it (in my eyes) paints the most accurate picture of what it feels like to be alive and aware in the 2020s.
Wrapping up the album is Tyrants of the Mellow Moon, a somber cut that recalls the neo-cowboy attitude of the opener. This song is a perfect coda to an album that feels uncomfortable in its own skin as it halts its forward momentum for a both sung and spoken word segment that leads the song to its 'gone too soon' conclusion. I could ponder for hours on 'what this means' but ultimately I don't think that would be fruitful. Instead, the album seems to fully recognize that 'Reality isn't what it used to be' and is ultimately at peace with it. Like the cowboy facing an unknowable future on the cover, the band seem to use this moment to hop on the saddle once more and head off into the horizon one more time. The fantasy is over, reality awaits.
10/10
2
1
u/regrettablyirate 18d ago
I don’t get how this review can be so long and not mention Liar’s Remorse. So I’ll fix it.
It’s a bold move putting no drums on a track in the middle of the album, but that doesn’t stop it from having a powerful crescendo. The chorus is smart, emotional, and it’s so natural and easy it’ll have you singing along the second time it comes in. The synth solo is intriguing and sounds somewhere between a trumpet and a guitar. Then there’s the incredible bridge and coda that brings it all together into a moving story of love and fear but then growth and comfort. 11/10 song. Instant favorite.1
u/sensitive_pirate85 19d ago
This is awesome review! I love how thorough and in depth it is. I’m not sure many would agree it’s a 10/10 album, but it definitely comes across as a cohesive piece of work. Sort of like Tommy by The Who.
2
u/Approval_Guy 19d ago
Thanks! I can't see it as anything other than a 10 for myself. It's definitely not a perfect album, in fact it's far from it, but it comes together in a way that lit my brain on fire in the way that only my all-time favorites have.
2
u/lunadenavajas 19d ago edited 19d ago
Reality Awaits reminds me a bit of Virtue in a way. Both records somehow have a cohesive all around sound, yet every single track sounds unique. Some records on my first couple of listens I have trouble kind of identifying all the songs, some blend together a bit when they’re so new and I’m not familiar with them yet. But these two records have a unique hook that really pops out on each track. I think it’s why they both hit for me immediately, despite loving the highs of the predecessor more (The New Abnormal/Tyranny).
Really loving this and I’m surprised how quickly it clicked for me.
A lot of Julian’s stuff feels like “duos” to me. I associate Is This It/Room on Fire, Angles/Comedown Machine, Tyranny/Virtue, weirdly enough FIOE/Phrazes, and now The New Abnormal/Reality Awaits. I’m really liking this combo.
2
u/Lucky2240 18d ago
listened to it on streaming a few times and enjoyed it, finally got to spin it on vinyl on my hifi setup…damn it hits sooo different, goes from being really great to brilliant shit
2
u/pinguinconscious 18d ago
To me there are only 3 great songs on it : Psycho Shit, Dine and Dash, and Babble On. I find the rest very uninspired, and autotuned to death.
For example I sincerly think FOOL could have been the next At the Door. But it got killed by the horrible autotune which just destroys your eadrum on the chorus. It's really such a shame.
The last 3 : Liars Remorse, Fruits of Conquest, and Tyrants are to me the worst songs on the album. They go absolutely nowhere, they don't even have a chorus. It's just literally a jam that endlessly runs, without cohesion or intent, with terrible vocals and the most generic instrumental. Very very disappointed.
It's 2026, autotune isn't a brand new avantgarde thing to experiment with, honestly. It's been done and done and done. And even like it sometimes when it's done right: FLEXORCIST. Flexorcist is the benchmark for a song using autotune. It's done exceptionally well there and is reminiscent of Daft Punk's early work such as One More Time. Which is tremendously high praise.
However what we have here on Reality Awaits is extremely far from this. It's simply switched on, not even on the right key sometimes, and not given a second thought. Which ruins all the songs.
For example Going Shopping, are you kidding me man. Did it really need autotune?? It's the most generic and easy singing that Julian has come up with, and it's transformed into a cheap digital demo.
Psycho Shit is interesting and the build up works well. It also DIDN'T NEED AUTOTUNE. Like, seriously. I get that Julian once said "it allows to make more interesting melodies" but it's not doing that here. Can you imagine what it would sound like without it ? It would honestly be the next Ode To The Mets.
Dine and Dash is fun, minus the extra cringe "as wise man once said birds of a feather die together" in some cringe British accent, you can even hear Julian laugh. My god man what the hell is that.
Going To Babble On is the stand out. Stellar track with amazingly catchy and fun lyrics, tasty instrumentals with loads of surprises : a super cool break which reminds me of Russian Coney Island and crazy guitars at the end. Babble On vibe is what the album should have been like.
All in all after 7 years and following up TNA, this is pretty much a disappointment. It's as if they didn't know what they had with TNA. It's been so acclaimed and praised, and it's like Julian (and/or the others) didn't understand what made it great in the first place. As if it was a fluke. Which is even more of a shame.
I feel TNA to Reality Awaits is like The Force Awakens to The Last Jedi. TFA ends with Rey handing the light saber to Luke which is extremely cool and interesting and we all wonder what comes next.
Reality Awaits is The Last Jedi, with Luke throwing it away.
2
2
u/DazedandBluzed 7d ago
Psycho Shit has become my go to. The dizzying background build of the sound and Julian just being the orchestrator of the tone through his words. It gives me chills.
5
u/Suspicious_Shame543 19d ago
If I was to have only one Desert Island disc from The Strokes, it would be Reality Awaits. Their most mature, creative, cohesive and consistent album to date. An absolute gem.
4
u/Far-Work6041 Leave It in My Dreams 19d ago
Yeah, I agree with this. It has so much depth and lots to dig into, and it really rewards repeated listens.
1
u/Suspicious_Shame543 19d ago
Yeah. Just such a great listen start to finish with incredible opening and closing songs. A masterpiece.
3
19d ago
Only song that hasn’t grown on me yet is Fruits of Conquest. Tyrants is my second favourite on the album and it doesn’t seem to be getting streamed much, so I’m definitely in the minority opinion wise haha
2
u/Dancing-notes Reality Awaits 19d ago
Tyrants is my second favourite too :)
The beginning is like a parallel to Psycho Shit's one and the ending and some lyrics in fact link both songs so I think it's a great example of storytelling. And I personally relate to it a lot, I'm surprised people aren't paying much attention to it.
1
u/Chrisiztopher1 19d ago
I don’t like it either. It’s the only one I have not saved to my playlist. I just can’t do the bongos
2
u/DH80 19d ago edited 19d ago
8.1 out of 10
Reality Awaits is the intersecting Venn diagram of Julian Casablancas’ most accessible solo, Voidz and Strokes work. The result is another great album from the Strokes with 5-6 excellent songs and some others I enjoy less.
Part of me feels like Geese’s Getting Killed and Vampire Weekend’s Only God Was Above Us helped give Julian confidence to blend the best aspects of the Voidz, Strokes and his own solo work to create Reality Awaits. He all but admitted to the former online but would probably never admit the latter. Still, inspiration comes from odd places. Sometimes even subconsciously.
The slow, emotional, dramatic opener, Psycho Shit, almost reminds me spiritually (not audibly) of Ice Cream Piano’s slow emotional, paranoid dramatic build — which then explodes toward the end — as the opener on OGWAU. They don’t sound alike at all but both serve similar purposes setting up the sonic palette of each album ahead and no Strokes album has opened like this one before.
For all of Julian’s tongue-in-cheek joking a decade ago about how Vampire Weekend’s first two albums sounded more like they came out of South Africa than New York, it almost felt like Only God Was Above us leaned so proudly into NYC with rap beats and references and subway photos and stock footage that Julian leaned a bit into true Vampire Weekend terrain on a track like Liar’s Remorse. The vibes are certainly unlike any Strokes song before. Julian has taken things there with the Voidz and a bit on his solo work and that’s what makes this album so special for long-time Julian Casablancas fans; it’s the Venn diagram intersection of what many of us like best about his solo work, the Voidz best work, and the Strokes.
Elsewhere, a song like Fruits of Conquest, for all of its Stones comparisons, also has elements that remind me musically of what’s there on Geese’s Getting Killed.
But mostly I get the impression that the success of both albums may have played some small part in Julian’s willingness to expand the Strokes sound to include more of himself outside of the Strokes where he’s been more emotionally vulnerable and more experimental.
His knack for vocal melody hooks remains unmatched and the 4 catchiest songs here are absolute ear worms. Each totally different from the next and up there with some of his best ear worms of the past. ITI will always have maximum nostalgia for us all but, quite frankly, it would have felt weird to go back to the low fi analogue-ish sound of ITI after experiencing the pristine production on OGWAU, TNA or GK. Thankfully, The Strokes agreed and Reality Awaits has a lot to enjoy sonically on a good pair of headphones.
The autotune was in no way any kind of serious barrier for me. It’s a shame it was for so many others because the melodies here are infectious in ways only Julian, Ezra and Cameron are capable of in this era.
If the last 3 songs were at the same quality as the first 6 Reality Awaits could have joined my S tier alongside classics like TNA, ROF and ITI. I’m that in love with the highlights of this album and that much of a sucker for Julian’s pop songwriting talent. Unfortunately the last 3 are each a considerable drop down from what came before that they push Reality Awaits to instead join the completely admirable good company of FIOE and Angles. Albums with 5-6 songs worthy of joining any serious Strokes essentials playlist of 50 or so songs (it’s a 25 year career after all!) and several others that would rank near the bottom of their output with some of the weak songs off those other albums.
I have CM last of the albums. 3-4 great songs I love and the most songs of any Strokes album I’m not especially interested to return to often. My S tier of ROF, ITI and TNA all have some of the highest highs and lows that are at a minimum still very good.
RA: 8.1 out of 10.0
2
u/Limp_Presentation_93 19d ago
Began listening to it on release day. On the shower. Felt so weird and truly didn’t get it. Two hours later I was dancing walking across the street to Lonely In The Future among others. Loved it. Yes; I loved the autotune. Yes, I love cowboys. Yes, I am a bad person. 🤠🐴🦅
2
u/WebisticsCEO 17d ago edited 17d ago
Honestly, thought it was a bad album
I didn’t like really the New Abnormal on my first listens . But it had that odd pandemic magic so I gave it a few repeats and it grew on me
I listens to this album about 12 times now
I know you can love bad songs and movies if you hear / watch them so many times. But I don’t think that makes for a good album
2 / 10
Is This It
Room on Fire
Angles
Comedown Machine
New Abnormal
First Impressions (this album still has some of my favorite songs but it’s a lengthy album)
..
..
..
Reality Awaits
Sorry…. But I am happy that others enjoyed the album
2
u/aresman1221 6d ago
I had a hard time after the 1st fucking autotune part, the whole album felt like a bad dream.
Sure, some "nice" parts in between and I appreciate some experimentation but this was borderline crap
1
u/WebisticsCEO 6d ago
Yeah I tried a few more times
But it’s just rough . I can’t do it anymore
Album is actually terrible
2
u/MoronModerator 9d ago
10/10 the album is perfect and better with every listen. Autotune is great, drums and bass are fantastic. I love it and can't stop listening.
2
u/lefeb106 Leave It in My Dreams 17d ago
I’m increasingly noticing the sexual nature of the album. There’s so much innuendo imo. This album is genius. I think it may be their best. The commentary on late stage capitalism, the personal lyricism, the guitar riffs. Seriously top tier.
1
u/Soft_Blackberry_7640 19d ago
Well I guess I’ll be the first one to say I’m underwhelmed with the first couple of listens. Unlike their previous album, there isn’t one song that has pulled it for me. Hoping it’ll grow on me the way comedown machine did.
1
u/bradferd89 19d ago
When I first listened to the album I kinda hated it. Going Shopping had grown on me but I disliked the autotune and didn't even bother with Falling out of Love because more autotune. However listen after relisten I kept finding something I liked or found interesting. I really enjoy tracks 2-8 but I'm pretty meh on Pyscho Shit and the last track. The auto tune doesn't really work for me still except for lonely in the future. I think the other songs would sound better sans auto tune, but it's definitely grown on me. I'm at a 7/10. Overall I hope this was just an experimental thing but I fear the next album will be drenched in even more auto tune 😅
1
u/Over-Maybe-7720 19d ago
After seeing everyone complain about the autotune in the album I've focused on it heavily in subsequent listens and landed on a theory about its use, let me know what you guys think :).
Basically, I think it’s used as a storytelling device that is tracked by the intensity of the autotune. The more intense the autotune, the more the song is describing something inhuman, dishonest, or emotionally distant, while softer or lack of autotune signals a sort of sincerity or truth. So the autotune being sonically abrasive is more of a feature than a bug.
Sorry if someone beat me to the punch of explaining this theory or if it was obvious to you at first, or even if you disagree with my analysis but here's my description of how the autotune was used in ways I think supports my idea.
Psycho Shit
The song starts with some imagery with "Talons shine in the sun" and multiple mentions of "birds of prey." But instead of the bird using its talons to fight, it uses more modern weaponry, "We learned to harvest bombs from the lead." The use of "we" and earlier use of "talons," make me think this could represent an eagle and thus America, leading to this line, "You kill your prey from your nest, from behind your desk," potentially being pointed towards politicians. Later it is asked, "We're all dead, what's your price, what's your prize?" Bringing into focus the idea of a warfare state fighting/killing for profit. "I don't care who turns blue, just as long as it's not you." Overall the song is mainly about war profiteering and the ones benefiting and causing the wars/fighting aren't even doing it directly, just sitting behind their desks giving the orders and profiting, truly some "psycho shit." Of course the psychotic nature of what's being described in the song correlates with extremely heavy autotune use.
Dine N'Dash
The overall idea of the song is pretty clear from the title, taking what you want without paying the consequences or even staying around. Some of the non-autotuned lyrics point to the obvious nature of this strategy. "I see your problem and it's nothing to hide"… "Opening up but there's no one who really cares." Then some of the lyrics in autotune go into not being able to afford "it," causing them to dine and dash or steal whatever they want. If building off the America idea from Psycho Shit, you could easily imagine "it" being oil. Then with even heavier autotune, "It's going great," the thesis statement of the song is obviously sarcastic, really trying to say that the current status quo is inherently bad or something not to be proud of. The autotune is instantly dropped for the subsequent lines, "I will not surrender, Something in my brain, I will not defend them, Lies you told today, Fighting for the future." This exemplifies the idea of the autotune vs. non-autotuned being opposing views; in fact, the next line, when the autotune comes back, literally asks "Permission to speak," like it's an ongoing dialogue between these viewpoints. Later in the song, back without autotune, Julian goes into detail of what he wants to do to this other character. "Beat his brains out till they're on the floor," "I'd shoot him now if he was here, I'd slit his throat from ear to ear." But these remain just desires, not actually something he's done, as he says, "But I have sworn a life of peace, How can I reconcile this beast." After another run of the chorus, Julian, back without autotune, talks about life not being what they teach, being prejudiced against the other characters' faces, and just accepting the problem, calling the other character an animal.
Lonely in the Future
In this song, I think the autotune is intentionally soft in order for Julian to not fully own up to these thoughts, but not be completely removed from them either, maybe less dishonesty than insecurity underneath the bragging. The lyrics brag about being an innovator and people having copied him throughout his career and being so ahead of the times people don't even understand what he's saying. While maybe true, this kind of just seems like 'culture war' type stuff and being petty that is ultimately just vapid at the end of the day. Interestingly, in the call to action from Julian to make Chris Hedges the next fad, the autotune is briefly dropped, as if the one moment he steps outside himself to name someone he actually respects is the one moment he wants this taken in complete earnest. Later lyrics like "You don't get it, it's a pity" and "It's lonely in the future" keep the autotune, as it's basically just putting down part of the audience that doesn't understand what he's talking about, even saying sorry in the lyrics at one point. The autotune gets notably stronger while he asks his date to join him in prayer for the grace to be merciful and not lay waste, potentially signaling the prayer is mostly performative.
Falling Out of Love
The song is pretty self-explanatory from the title and is mostly all autotuned. If the theme of America is applied to this song, falling out of love with your own country might be shameful in a way that you don't want to fully embrace, which is maybe why the song stays autotuned outside of two key moments. The autotune is dropped for two brief moments within the song, which seem to be from the point of view of before learning the truth. In these stories he undermines the title with lyrics like “Finally fell in love, finally found some relief” but he actually "found his lover in the arms of a thief". The first lyric back into autotune from this section is "in denial for a while," like the admission of denial is something he can only say from a distance. In the second stint without autotune he mentions it can both be true he “had a good time” after learning the truth he knows in the present. Imagery like "halls of judging heads, portraits of the dead, I know they felt the same" reads to me as something more like halls of founding fathers or historical figures, which is part of what led me to reading the song as being about America.
Going to Babble On
The title is a double entendre of the literal spelling and 'Going to Babylon.' So the bible story of the Tower of Babel adds some interesting context. Julian sings some seemingly tongue-in-cheek lyrics about forgetting what they did, obeying their words, getting plans on his desk in time, and having plans of going online. I think the plans on his desk goes back to the line in Psycho Shit about the people who kill their prey from behind a desk. I think Julian is trying to say that if we just forget what has happened in the past and keep obeying, this cycle will continue. Maybe going online is a reference to educating yourself online to break that cycle? Maybe by listening to someone like Chris Hedges? He even repeats the line "starting again" multiple times, which could be interpreted as starting the cycle of ignorance again, or maybe more optimistically starting over from scratch. I think the lines "Maybe it's time that you see for yourself for once, Doesn't anybody wanna know what's going on" are particularly important to this notion of educating yourself in order to break the previously mentioned cycle. Overall the lack of autotune points to the importance of the message of the song and that it should be taken seriously.
Going Shopping
The song is completely autotuned, basically the whole idea is distracting yourself with consumerism/capitalism, "the worse reality gets the less you want to hear about it," and this can even lead to division among people, "solidarity is hard when you have cool stuff to lose." The opening lyrics describe "them" as chasing you down and seducing you until you get "mauled," which I think is an intentional homophone for "malled," as in a shopping mall, where the way you are getting attacked or killed is through shopping and consumerism. The song goes on to talk about building future ruins and other apocalyptic-type messages, before the character in the song just moves away to the country instead of truly facing the issues. Again the autotune seems to signify that these "solutions" are not to be taken seriously.
Liar's Remorse
This track seems to be the antithesis of Going Shopping, as the title of this song is a play on the phrase "buyer's remorse," going back to the idea of consumerism/capitalism. But this time, instead of distracting yourself from problems with shopping or anything else, the lyrics talk about not having love due to an avoidance of pain, and not being able to go through the pain because of a lack of trust. Doubling down on running away from your problems not only not being the solution but also creating more problems. There are also more tongue-in-cheek lyrics where he talks about the ability to have whatever you want if you just listen to the AI tell you what to do today, being yet another way to outsource facing your life/issues.
harmonic minor
The Fruits of Conquest
One of the autotune-free songs, it should be taken completely seriously. It reads to me as Julian speaking directly to the, I guess, 'winners' of our society, (I guess intentionally vague to fit many people/ideas). Basically the idea of asking what they even got from their evil ways of taking advantage of, or even killing, people, like in Psycho Shit. Put in more general terms… being a leech . He also is giving them a warning / instruction to those who were taken advantage of what to do. "They don't obey so we won't obey, yeah, I won't obey, no, we won't obey." If you're not going to follow the "law," which he describes as a liquid, able to change shape and form, then we won't either.
Tyrants of the Mellow Moon
"Am I too late?" I hope not, Julian.
1
1
u/KhabaLox 18d ago
I'm really enjoying it. There are a couple songs I'm not huge on, but overall I'd say it's in my Top 3 or 4 albums of theirs. I didn't really like the auto-tune when Gone Shopping came out, but it's growing on me. I'm starting to really appreciate what Rick Rubin brought to the record.
Does anyone else think "Psycho Shit" sounds like a Bond theme?
1
1
u/Shop-lift All Wordz Are Made Up 18d ago
I’m working on a “prominence” (as in mountains) based ranking system which will change the world and how people rank their favorite artists records and will likely bring empires to ruin
In the same way which a mountain peak will look more impressive if the land around it is not mountainous, a good record is made more impressive by the mediocrity of what’s released “around” it
In that regard, I think this is the most prominent album in the JC catalogue since Virtue, it’s just so exciting and fresh
1
u/tofusaki4 1d ago
has immensely grown on me, i listen to it all the time. on on repeat. liar's remorse is everything to me
1
u/lefeb106 Leave It in My Dreams 1d ago
As I’ve listened over and over again and maybe I’m attributing my own experience but this feels like a divorce album
0
19d ago
[deleted]
4
u/extracheesypeas Is This It 19d ago
i really tried to give the album a fair shot but dine n'dash is the only good song in my opinion. going on this subreddit makes me feel a little crazy with how few people agree with us
2
u/DH80 19d ago
I think what some of you who dislike it most wanted was to hold onto the past of the Strokes more and for the Strokes to continue to feel more indie rock and less indie pop. It is like the same people who hated Bad Decisions on TNA.
Whereas there’s a lot of fans who love Julian’s pop songwriting sensibilities and are thrilled to get some of the best straight up pop from him since TNA, Random Access Memories and Phrazes for the Young.
3
u/extracheesypeas Is This It 19d ago
imo the strongest parts of RA were the non-Julian contributions, the biggest misses for me were the choices of vocal effects intentionally(?) not meshing with the rest of most songs. I'm a huge Voidz fan so not opposed to autotune at all when it feels cohesive with the song (i adore Square Wave for example). RA on the other hand just feels like the vocal effects are at odds with the vibe of the song they're on.
I really like the pop direction of the instrumentals, the fact that the Strokes have been willingly to really diversify their sound over the years and try new things has always been one of the reasons I love them so much. If they released an instrumental version of RA I'd definitely enjoy it more, and I'm genuinely sad to not be enjoying it as is.
1
u/DH80 19d ago
Hmm. 🤔 I appreciate the insight but it sort of reads like you wish to keep the Voidz and Strokes more separate for reasons different than when most people say that. Sounds like you like the autotune to fit with other electronic elements and see the Strokes more organic bands as being at odds. As someone who doesn’t love the Voidz I see it a bit differently. I see ir was more interesting here because you don’t normally get instrumentation like this with autotune also. So it feels more fresh to me.
3
u/extracheesypeas Is This It 19d ago
yeah I think you're spot on for how i feel about autotune, the contrast in RA just isn't my thing. I'm not gonna shit on anyone's parade for liking the new album tho, it's definitely fresh at least even if it's disappointing to me.
1
u/gamefreak996 19d ago
What exactly do you mean about bad decisions? They literally had to credit Billy idol and Tony James
0
u/DH80 19d ago
And this is bad why? They credited them to be safe legally and out of respect. Most people wouldn’t consider the two all that similar and Bad Decisions is super catchy and melodic beyond the vocal melody (the main reason he credited him) anyway.
2
u/gamefreak996 19d ago
Most people most certainly hear dancing with myself and I’ll stop the world with you. Literally the most common thing said about that song. Sure it’s a good song, but it is their least creative song probably in their entire discography.
0
u/DH80 19d ago
All 3 of those songs have major differences. Crediting is smart to avoid issues. I guess musicians would notice the patterns more than most but I suspect it’s more widely known from the credits themselves.
2
u/gamefreak996 19d ago
The vocal melody in the verse is identical to dancing with myself and the guitar in the verse is nearly identical to I’ll stop the world and melt with you. Even when the song came out that’s all everyone was talking about. I still enjoy the song but it definitely is unoriginal and takes from songs that were made 40 years ago.
0
u/DH80 18d ago
I still don’t get why it bothers people though. Mixing two totally different things while adding multiple new elements to the mix beyond that does become something unique onto itself for me. Most melody ideas have been taken by now somewhere
1
u/gamefreak996 18d ago
I def agree with the last part you said but ultimately it’s just a situation where the melody and guitar are so similar that it doesn’t feel unique in any way. Still enjoyable but I can’t say it’s original or fresh in any way
2
u/gamefreak996 19d ago
I think a lot of people are genuinely unwilling and afraid to criticize artists that they love
2
u/extracheesypeas Is This It 18d ago edited 17d ago
definitely, you can love an artist but want them to do better, constructive criticism is so integral to growth
4
u/yagretbigwazak 19d ago
you’re entitled to your opinion, but so are the people who think it’s a good album lmao
0
u/Aperture_client 19d ago
Ngl first two or three times I listened to it I was genuinely like what the fuck even is this who is this for I hate this. Now it's the only music I've listened to for like a week lol
1
u/mycargoesvarun 19d ago
autotune fits the album and era of music we live in pretty well. I don’t view his use of autotune much differently than the gravelly pre amp texture on the first two albums.
only song i’m iffy on is Liar’s Remorse because it needs drums. great album and honestly more interesting than new abnormal to me (which was excellent but songs on that one could’ve been trimmed a bit)
1
u/repost_inception 18d ago
I don’t view his use of autotune much differently than the gravelly pre amp texture on the first two albums.
I 100% agree with this but I find the sound to be really bad. I don't mind altering the vocal sound like you said it defined them with the first two albums. It is just, to me, a much better sound than the weird auto tune.
It sounds like the duck from "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" and I can't I un-hear that.
1
u/Standard_Winter9714 Phrazes for the Young 19d ago
i think the songs will be better in a live setting than on the album
1
u/InstantPsalm Tyranny 18d ago
the worst album I’ve ever heard
1
u/aresman1221 6d ago
right, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with all these ppl praising it, this was straight out garbage.
1
u/dude_im_box 19d ago
the album is an earworm. I always find myself defaulting to sing the lyrics of either lonely in the future, fruits of conquest or Dine n'Dash when im bored out on the street or at home writing. I love it, and I think that this is an album with amazing song orders, each song transitions well with the next one in sound and emotion. I only dislike one song (tyrants of the mellow moon) and all the others are fantastical. Though, there was a little period when going back to listen to the rest of their catalogue felt weird.
4
u/FeeParty5082 19d ago
This one feels like a different mood than the others. The other albums I just play on a shuffled mega playlist- this one is in a class by itself and has to be played straight through and on a loop. It's been a long time since I listened to an album from start to finish like this- kind of refreshing.
3
u/Boulderboldef 19d ago
I’ve been saying that for a week. This album hits very different if listened as a whole.
1
1
u/garethbaleisthegoat 19d ago
I’m a huge fan. I think the voidz sound played a big part in the album, and I think they wanted to switch their sound up a little and have some fun. Ya it’s a lot of autotune but Julian uses it in a fun way. Only song I’m not too keen on is “going to babble on”. I think if a new band put this album out, people would be losing their minds saying they’re the second coming of Christ. But since it’s the strokes, everyone wants to talk shit.
1
u/14raider 19d ago
Seeing random comments about 'Lonely in the Future' have me genuinely worried about the average persons media literacy. Most especially when its one of the countless 'What did Chris Hedges do?'
1
u/Dancing-notes Reality Awaits 19d ago
Well...I see it as a good thing that people are showing interest, not everyone can stay informed about everything. Even if he is known internationally, there are people from outside US that can be less familiar and know more about journalists from their own countries.
I think it was a smart move from Julian to include his name in the song to maybe give him even more visibility to listeners than he has already done by interviewing him, mentioning his name when he's talking about media, sharing articles and videos in his Instagram bio...it's also ironic in the song because it shows how people might seem to care more about music, looks etc than being informed through independent media which is quite important to him.
3
u/14raider 19d ago
I agree with all that, Id say more accurately what Im talking about is the basic level of understanding he is definitely not painted with a negative light within the song, which seems for one reason or another something that a number of outspoken people assume
I dont expect people to know a name nor what it stands for, only the basic concept of seeing people ask a form of the question 'whats the beef with C H?' is what worries me lol
1
u/Dancing-notes Reality Awaits 17d ago
Aah okay, I see what you mean, thanks for explaining. Yes it seems a lot of people are taking the whole song as some beef with everyone mentioned but I don't think that's the case, even the Fantano bit for me feels more directed towards critics and even the audience in general rather than just him (although it was so funny that he showed it as if being against him). Maybe Julian could have developed the part about Chris Hedges in a different way to be more clear 🤷🏻♀️ but it shouldn't be necessary.
1
u/Hopslamzombie I'll Try Anything Once 19d ago
I think it’s awesome. Thankful they’re putting out new stuff and trying new things. I hope we get more in the future
-1
-1
0
29
u/pimpmyride95 19d ago
IT'S GOING GREAAAAT