Fans have been waiting for a new Strokes album for six years, and after a few listens, Reality Awaits left me feeling more disappointed than excited.
There are moments where the band remind you why they've been one of the most influential rock bands of the last 25 years. The guitars still lock together effortlessly, the rhythm section is as tight as ever, and there are flashes of melodies that stick around long after the album ends. I can hear what they were aiming for, and I respect that they didn't just make The New Abnormal again. Some reviews have praised that willingness to push into stranger, more futuristic territory, and I understand why. But none of it clicked for me.
The biggest issue is Julian Casablancas' vocals. I’m a huge advocate for Auto-Tune when it's used with purpose, but here it feels like it's fighting against everything that made The Strokes great. Julian has one of the most recognisable voices in rock. It's rough, emotional and effortlessly cool. It's the voice that carried Is This It, Room on Fire and The New Abnormal. It's also the voice Daft Punk knew exactly how to use on Instant Crush, where the processing added something without hiding who he was.
On Reality Awaits, the Auto-Tune doesn't enhance the songs, it takes something away from them. Every time it appears, it pulls me out of the music. Instead of hearing Julian's trademark compressed vocals that work seamlessly, I'm hearing an effect, and that's a trade-off I never wanted from a Strokes record.
Maybe this album will grow on me. And I’m sure for a lot of fans it will reward repeat listens, particularly if you're open to the crossover between The Strokes and Julian's work with The Voidz. But after several plays, I don't see myself coming back to it.
I admire the ambition, but I miss the humanity. For me, Reality Awaits proves that experimenting isn't always the same as evolving.
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