The Strokes: Going Shopping through The Voidz's demos

The explosion of AI, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the world shut down and then reopened again due to the COVID-19 pandemic; that is just a few things that have happened since The Strokes released their last album, The New Abnormal, in 2020. 

After many online teasers, the New York City band have finally announced their 7th studio album, Reality Awaits, out June 26th, along with the lead single, 'Going Shopping'. Immediately, it is clear that this album is something different for the band, with the cover not following the same minimalistic graphic design as their past works. The grainy, western image used is Richard Prince's 1989, Untitled (Cowboy).

The choice of this cover is yet to be explained; after all, The Strokes are proud New Yorkers! What association do they have to cowboys? 

Singer Julian Casablancas has recently been clearly fascinated by this image of cowboys, particularly in his musical side project, The Voidz. A quick look at the Voidz's online store, and an entire merchandise line titled the "Cowboy Killer" range can be seen, fitting perfectly with the line "ride 'em cowboy, are we there yet?", from their 2025 single, 'Blue Demon', and their 2024 song, '7 Horses'.

So, in the absence of The Strokes, Casablancas acquired an obsession for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and that possibly found its way in the band's new album cover, as long as The Strokes still sound like The Strokes! 

Well...

'Going Shopping' is one of the nine songs to be released, and the only current taste of the album we have. The single artwork is promising, a funky spin on outer space imagery, almost feeling like an ode to the 2002 'Hard To Explain' music video, which features many clips of the solar system.

Just shy of four-and-a-half minutes, the tune itself sounds as if Casablancas mistakenly submitted a Voidz vocal track for the symbol of The Strokes' comeback. No line in the song is sung without the accompaniment of autotune, a sonic characteristic so vital to the identity of The Voidz, and not at all The Strokes. The song is not inherently bad- it is experimental, and the band's tightness is clear within the strong instrumental- it just isn't fresh and feels extremely lazy. If a listener wanted to hear an autotuned Casablancas singing about horses and cowboys over a clean track, they have the entire discography of The Voidz available to them. Why bleed the speciality of one group into another? This is an even poorer choice on the band's side, as this song essentially represents six years' worth of their work and their fans' patience. Fans were anticipating the next 'Reptilia' and instead were greeted with a refurbished 'Pink Ocean'.

This being said about one of the most anticipated recent comebacks, there is still the point of evolution. This criticism of sonic change is something The Strokes have always been prone to, particularly with the release of their 2006 record First Impressions of Earth, which was critiqued for its change in production and style. The album, however, includes one of the band's biggest songs, 'You Only Live Once', and over time has been much more appreciated. Along with this, while this song might be the band's chosen representation for the album, it isn't until the entire record is released that it can be entirely discussed and reviewed.

In one of the few times critics and fans are on the same page, there is only hope that some classic Strokes soul remains in the album's 8 other songs. The Voidz fans, on the other hand, celebrate what is practically a demo of their favourite band.

Listen to 'Going Shopping' by The Strokes here:

@sugarspunmag