The Strokes delay new album ‘Reality Awaits’ and announce huge homecoming New York show with Beach House and Fcukers

The Strokes have announced a huge New York show with Beach House and Fcukers, and pushed back the release date for new album ‘Reality Awaits’.

The highly anticipated record is the seventh from the New York indie icons, and the follow-up to 2020’s ‘The New Abnormal’. 

It was originally set to arrive on June 26, and has so far been previewed by the chic lead single ‘Going Shopping’ and the nostalgic ‘Falling Out Of Love’. Now, The Strokes have confirmed that the release date has been pushed back to July 24. Pre-order it here.

While no reason has been shared for the delay, Julian Casablancas and co. have confirmed a massive homecoming show in New York, taking place on October 2.

Set to be held at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park, this will mark their first New York City headline show since 2023, and will see them joined by Beach House, TV on the Radio and Fcukers on the bill.

Tickets go on sale next Thursday (June 18) at 10am ET, and pre-sale options will be available from Wednesday June 17. Queens local residents (11368, 11355, 11375, and 11367 zip codes) will also be eligible for a 20 per cent discount on general admission tickets.

Visit here for tickets, and here to sign up for pre-sale access.

The new date in New York builds on an already-busy year of touring for The Strokes. They have already performed at Coachella 2026 – where they called out the CIA and the United States government in their set – and are now getting ready for more festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Summer Sonic and more.

They also have announced a huge tour visiting 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 gigs include stops at London’s O2. Support comes from Thundercat, Cage the Elephant, Hamilton Leithauser, Fat White Family, Alex Cameron and ÖLÜM, and more dates have been added due to huge demand. 

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.

The first two songs to be shared from ‘Reality Awaits’ have received a mixed response from fans, with many being divided over the use of a vocoder on Julian Casablancas’ voice – which gives it the same distinctive sound as seen on the hit 2013 Daft Punk collab ‘Instant Crush’ and later tracks like 2020’s ‘At the Door’.

In response to some backlash, guitarist and keyboard player Albert Hammond Jr has hit back at critics and described ‘Reality Awaits’ as his “favourite album” The Strokes have ever done.

He also said that working with Rick Rubin on the record was “one of his favourite recording experiences” as a musician.

When ‘Going Shopping’ dropped earlier in 2026, NME gave the single 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.”

In other Strokes news, Julian Casablancas has been announced as a guest at the prestigious Oxford Union debate society, and the band have also played new material for the first time on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.