Earlier today, the Strokes announced on social media that their seventh album, Reality Awaits, arrives this summer. Last week the band posted a link to sign up for their marketing texts, and now 100 responders who also agreed to provide a mailing address have received cassettes with a new song called "Going Shopping."
"Going Shopping" is not nearly as energetic as their last album, 2021's beloved The New Abnormal. The polarizing track is laid-back and breezy, though there's some mild ruckus at the very end as Julian Casablancas sings the final line, "If you're better than me/ Then you don't have to judge me." His voice is, as usual, Auto-Tuned into oblivion.
The Strokes will play their second of two San Francisco shows tonight and will return to Coachella for the first time in 15 years this weekend.
UPDATE 4/7: After giving "Going Shopping" its live debut Monday night in San Francisco, official audio for the song is out now, along with full details on Reality Awaits. The new album will be out June 26, a co-release by RCA and frontman Julian Casablancas' label Cult Records. It was produced by The New Abnormal producer Rick Rubin in Costa Rica and completed around the world. The cover art, designed by Johann Rashid, incorporates Richard Prince's 1989 painting "Untitled (Cowboy)."
Hear the studio recording of "Going Shopping" below.
