Weekend Intermission – The Strokes (US) – Reality Awaits (album)

Weekend Intermission is our regular feature where we look at an artist or band not from the Nordic countries, just to mix things up a bit.

The Strokes are back to a multitude of fireworks, the hype machine ever in overdrive, this time more brutal than ever before. Certain things need setting straight. Do not listen to the quite frankly inaccurate BS written about The Strokes’ latest album. ‘Reality Awaits’ is a work of art, listenable, imaginative, challenging, but always melodic and fun. If a different band made it I believe its reviews would be better.

There is simply nothing here that warrants even a fragment of the animosity the album has received. In fact, quite the opposite. The record is brave, ambitious, and has near-endless guitar and vocal melodies in which to revel. As for the autotune, it is not a mess; it is an innovative approach and gives the songs something fresh. Surely nobody can begrudge Julian Casablancas and co. the right to make such experiments.

If you hurried to write a review, in all your bandwagon-jumping glory, you missed the point. If you have continued listening, you will know your review was wrong. If you stopped listening before those melodies found the space in which to breathe, well, you do not love music. Casablancas as he ages becomes more of an acquired taste, perhaps it is so, but he rarely misses the mark with The Strokes, the songs just need to work their way in.

Here is a record that shines the longer it is left out. I keep being told I listen to the record a lot by my family. I responded that a good album works its way under your skin, earworms aplenty, and simply demands your attention. At this moment in time, Reality Awaits absolutely must not be placed beside its predecessors and measured, like two kids of different ages having their height compared, but should be allowed to stand tall and proud on its own two feet, taken for what it is.

The two singles that came out beforehand were not everybody’s cup of tea as singles that would represent the bigger mass of an album, though each track flourishes given further listens and taken both as individuals and parts of a larger body of work. That people call ‘Falling out of Love’ the worst Strokes single to date is baffling. There is a melodic and heartfelt track here like no other Strokes tune. I realise if autotune was removed from the track people might get closer to its soul, its meaning, but in no way does it ruin the song, only serving to give it a new tinge, a compelling angle.

‘Going Shopping’ becomes more fun with every listen. Obvious single and album highlight ‘Dine N’ Dash’ is magnificent, further joy to be had, and a brilliant addition to the band’s gorgeous and always fascinating catalogue.

Beyond those three tracks the other six are loaded with melodies that astound, lyrics that bite, emotions inspired, contemplations that arise, and a desire to push repeat as soon as it all ends. I may get in trouble for that. Watch out for the “I’m a leech!” refrain and multiple other gems across the album. It rarely dips below the mesmerising mark.

I hear a sonic experiment that mostly passes. You cannot fail someone for effort and a brilliant work when you simply imagined something else. Real musicians create what feels right, what they want to, not what the salivating masses want. This is not commercial creation; this is true artistry.

It is hard not to think the resulting reaction could be foreseen, and in a time when so many people buy into political lies and manipulation, when faced with the truth in art, they immediately run for their dear lives. A brilliant record lives here, literally, whether you like it or not. Here is to hoping The Strokes continue to confound the masses and do what they want, and deserve, to do. They have way better radar than they are given credit for.

Find them on:

Website: https://www.thestrokes.com/