The Strokes performed a new song live for the first time last night (Monday April 6) just hours after mailing it to fans on cassette – check it out below.
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The New York band showcased the track ‘Going Shopping’ during the second of two warm-up shows in San Francisco at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, ahead of their forthcoming slot at Coachella 2026 later this week.
Introducing the track, frontman Julian Casablancas said to the crowd: “I guess why not right? It’s already out there. A new song.” You can listen to it below.
It came just hours after 100 random Strokes fans received ‘Going Shopping’ through the post from the band.
The track, is a little more laid back than material from their 2020 album, ‘The New Abnormal‘ but is no less catchy as Casablancas croons: “I’m goin’ away to the country, don’t wander off too far / I’m goin’ out my mind throwin’ all my plans out the window,” over distorted guitars.
Elsewhere during their show, The Strokes performed their classic hits such as ‘Last Nite’ ‘Someday’, ‘New York City Cops’ and ‘Reptilia’, alongside tracks from their last album (‘Bad Decisions’, ‘Ode To The Mets’ and ‘The Adults Are Talking’).
It came just hours after the band officially announced their new album ‘Reality Awaits’, due this summer.
They have been teasing their return over the last few weeks, and yesterday they shared an official album teaser on their social media accounts.
The brief video featured a 1980s Nissan 300ZX alongside the tagline, “In the flesh, it’s even sexier”. As guitar chords chime, the video revealed: “Reality Awaits. The new album by The Strokes. Out this summer.”
— The Strokes (@thestrokes) April 6, 2026
Back in 2022, Rick Rubin – who produced ‘The New Abnormal’ – confirmed that he was working on a new album with The Strokes, and had finished a recording session with them in Costa Rica. “It was incredible,” he recalled at the time. “And we did that every day, playing out in the [open], and they didn’t want to leave. It was, like, the best experience.”
In response, Casablancas revealed that the group had “jammed and started some stuff”, but told fans that The Strokes’ next record was “extremely v far off” from being finished. “Check back in a year or [two] honestly,” he added.
Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr later recalled the “magical” new sessions with Rubin, and looked ahead to the band’s future. “I don’t think we’ve written our best songs yet,” he said. “I really feel that in my gut.”
During an interview with NME in spring 2023, Hammond Jr also gave an update on the progress of The Strokes’ next full-length effort.
“I think [Rubin] was just so excited about where we recorded,” the musician told us of the producer’s revelation from the previous year. “But I don’t know what to say about it – I don’t have any information on it.
“It’s not like it’s happening and I’m hiding something. We went and did a bunch of recording. It could come out a year or two years from now – it’s an unknown amount of time when it’ll be finished but, yes, we are working on another record.”
Speaking to NME in 2020, the NYC indie icons suggested that they could “be a little quicker” to release their next album, following the seven-year gap between ‘Comedown Machine’ and ‘The New Abnormal’.
“I think we have a good thing going,” Casablancas told us. “We have a good relationship with Rick. In theory, knock on wood, we should be working faster.”