The New Abnormal by The Strokes
The New Abnormal is the sixth studio album by American rock band The Strokes, released on April 10, 2020, through Cult and RCA Records. It was their first album in seven years, following Comedown Machine (2013), and their first release since the Future Present Past EP (2016). The album was produced by Rick Rubin and recorded at his Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California, with additional recording taking place at studios in Los Angeles County and Hawaii. Its sound was described by writers as indie rock, new wave, post-punk, and electronic music. The Strokes began performing songs from the album for the first time at different shows in 2019, before revealing the album's track list and cover art in early 2020. The cover art features the 1981 painting Bird on Money by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. The New Abnormal received positive reviews from critics, with praise being directed mainly towards the maturity of the lyrics and improved cohesion among bandmates. The album was preceded by the singles "At the Door", "Bad Decisions", and "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus".
A general observation: You don’t go see Rick Rubin at Shangri-La if you’re just going to fuck around. For their sixth LP, The Strokes turn to the Mage of Malibu to produce their most focused collection of songs since 2003’s <i>Room on Fire</i>—the very beginning of a period marked by discord, disinterest and addiction. Only their fourth record since, <i>The New Abnormal</i> finds the fivesome sounding fully engaged and totally revitalised, offering glimpses of themselves as we first came to know them at the turn of the millennium—young saviours of rock, if not its last true stars—while also providing the sort of perspective and even grace that comes with age. “Bad Decisions” is at turns riffy and elegiac, Julian Casablancas’ corkscrewing chorus melody a close enough relative to 1981’s “Dancing With Myself” that Billy Idol and Tony James are credited as songwriters. Though not as immediate, “Not the Same Anymore” is equally toothsome, a heart-stopping soul number that manages to capture feelings of both triumph and deep regret, with Casablancas opening himself up and delivering what might be his finest vocal performance to date. “I was afraid,” he sings, amid a weave of cresting guitars. “I fucked up/I couldn’t change/It’s too late.” For a band that forged an entire mythology around appearing as though they couldn’t be bothered, this is an exciting development. It’s cool to care, too.
