Albert Hammond Jr. has shared an explanation for why the release of The Strokes’ new album ‘Reality Awaits’ has been delayed.
The New York indie icons have been preparing to release their seventh studio album, with its original date having been set for June 26. However, last week (June 11), the band announced that it had been pushed back to July 24, without providing their reasoning. Pre-order the record here.
Now, guitarist Hammond has shed some light on the decision. In a since-deleted response to a fan on X, he explained that they decided to shift it four weeks later because they wanted the streaming release date to match that of the vinyl release. In his comments, he also said he thinks the music on the album sounds like that made by a “weird, young band”.
Hammond has also released a new track with the indie rock artist KennyHoopla, titled ‘NEW AMERICA//’, a stomping, ‘00s dance punk-influenced track. Listen here:
Hammond’s comments on the new music echo what he said last month, when he referred to ‘Reality Awaits’ as his “favourite album” that The Strokes have ever made. “I can’t express how beautiful it is,” he said. “I listen to the whole thing and wanna start from the beginning again. It grows and grows and becomes intoxicatingly good.”
Those words followed some pushback from Strokes fans to the early singles ‘Going Shopping’ and ‘Falling Out Of Love’, with some complaining about Julian Casablancas’ use of vocoder .
NME gave ‘Going Shopping’ 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.”
The Strokes have already played at Coachella and Bonnaroo, and have a huge tour to come that takes in 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 it includes stops at London’s O2. Support will come from Thundercat, Cage the Elephant, Hamilton Leithauser, Fat White Family, Alex Cameron and ÖLÜM, and more dates have been added due to huge demand.
They have also announced a huge New York show with Beach House, TV On The Radio and Fcukers at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on October 2. Find any remaining tickets here.
All of these shows will see The Strokes perform without guitarist Nick Valensi, as the band confirmed recently that he would be taking a “temporary break” from playing live.