By Lewis Hannah
In just over a month’s time, Reality Awaits, the seventh album by New York garage rockers The Strokes, will arrive. The 26th June release will end a six year wait for new material from the band, following up their much-acclaimed 2020 record The New Abnormal. Normally, the general feeling would be of excitement, The Strokes are held in high regard by many and, in theory, any project involving their name would get the music world in a buzz.
That, however, isn’t quite the case. Two singles have already been released, in Going Shopping and Falling Out of Love and both have been met with mixed and in some cases, negative reviews. These singles have sparked a major discourse regarding lead singer Julian Casablancas’ vocals, specifically the use of Autotune on those vocals. So what’s all the fuss about a couple of songs?
The new Strokes singles: A mechanical mess
On April 7th, Going Shopping, the lead single, released, not too long after the band had announced their seventh LP. On first listen, I was completely caught off guard. It was initially hard to explain this lead single, and perhaps more concerningly, whether I liked or disliked the song. Trust me, it’s a better feeling to be negative towards a song then it is to feel nothing, there’s still a connection. And for those first several listens, I couldn’t find that overriding feeling. I liked the guitar riffs, and the tones to them were very upbeat and groovy, I particularly enjoyed the two guitar solos towards the end, especially the second one, as it hangs in the background whilst Julian sings one last time.
At the same time however, maybe I liked that solo because it was the first time where Julian’s vocals were not a major distraction to my ears. Now, to be crystal clear, this isn’t the first time Julian Casablancas has employed the use of autotune for his vocals, in fact as far back as 2005’s First Impressions of Earth was when the band first toyed with the tool. Or give a listen to his feature on Daft Punk’s Instant Crush, that is if you can make out what Julian is singing. Julian also uses autotune for his side project The Voidz, whom fans have drawn many comparisons to during this album cycle. But the autotune has never been as over-bearing as it is on these new songs. In the song’s chorus it doesn’t sound too bad, but when Julian is rattling off different lines in quick succession, such as in the first verse, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Over time it has slowly grown on me for this song, but to say it took a while would be an understatement.
The second single ,however, Falling Out of Love, I find hard to defend. Going Shopping at least had a nice tempo and groove, so any hang-ups with the vocals could be largely forgiven. Falling Out of Love is the complete opposite, it’s designed to be a tender, slow burner, but just ends up sounding bitterly dull and disappointing, something I’ve never really thought about The Strokes. And the autotuned vocals on here aren’t just over-bearing, they are just straight up bad. Aside from the second verse, where the autotune is notably turned down and Julian’s vocals sound decent, the rest of the song just sounds like the wailings of a washed-up rock star trying to stay with the zeitgeist. A modern-day equivalent of what Neil Young was doing in the 80s with all those synthesisers.
The Strokes have always been a band that stood out for their distinct sound and authenticity, but these two new singles are, in my opinion, a worrying sign that they are losing what made them special. What also hasn’t been helping the band is that they have been accused of using Generative AI in their promotional videos for this album, not exactly the mark of an authentic artist. It’s not the first time a Julian Casablancas-led band has been caught using AI. The cover for The Voidz 2024 LP, Like All Before You, was created using AI. You’d like to think Julian would’ve learned from the first time.
Not everyone is as down regarding The Strokes’ new direction. For example, Calum, from Chester, who is a superfan of The Strokes, and everything Julian Casablancas, is really digging the new singles. I managed to get a few words from him.
“I think there’s been an overreaction to these new singles,” Calum said. “Anyone who’s followed The Strokes for a while, as well as Julian’s other projects knows that this isn’t a new thing. If anything it’s an evolution of what has been previously experimented with by Julian, and it suits the new direction of the band.”
On the use of AI, Calum conceded that it was, “disappointing to see a band with such a big following resort to AI. Maybe it was an honest mistake or the work of someone else. We don’t really know.”
Unlike most, Calum is eager for Reality Awaits to be released: “The Strokes are no strangers to long periods of time between albums, 80s Comedown Machine and The New Abnormal had a seven year gap between them, so that age-old adage of “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is probably the best way to describe my overriding feelings about this new album. Fingers crossed it turns out good and proves the doubters wrong.”
Interview with music journalist Alex McFerren on the new Strokes singles, and their controversial use of autotune.
