“Reality Awaits is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Strokes. It is the band's first release since 2020's The New Abnormal. It was released on July 24, 2026. In a 2022 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, producer Rick Rubin stated that he had been recording a new album with the Strokes in Costa Rica. The cover art for Reality Awaits, created by Johann Rashid, is based on the 1989 photograph (Untitled) Cowboy by Richard Prince. In April 6, 2026, the Strokes announced Reality Awaits via Instagram, with a teaser video displaying a 1980s Nissan”