The Strokes The New Abnormal Review Round-up

The reviews for The Strokes 6th record ‘The New Abnormal’ are mostly positive. The album is released on 10 April.

Associated Press – ‘If we’re all going down with the ship, let this be the soundtrack’

Brooklyn Vegan Obviously this album was finished before the current pandemic, but it’s these more somber songs that really capture the mood of 2020 and sound the best in this moment

DIY Magazine The Strokes seem to have finally remembered exactly how magical they can be too. It’s about time’

Evening Standard Throughout, there’s a sense that the band are trying again. It’s about time

EWAbnormal offers something even better, possibly, than reckless youth: rock stars finally old enough to truly miss those good old days — and wise enough now, too, to give us the soundtrack these strange new times deserve

Gigwise the second coming of a band who collapsed and rebuilt, it may not be considered a classic such as their beginnings but The Strokes are back to making damn good rock music

GQ Magazine (UK)The New Abnormal is an emphatic return to form

The GuardianThe New Abnormal proves that when they put their minds to it, that old magic is still well within the Strokes’s grasp

Hot PressStill though, there are more hits than misses overall. Is The New Abnormal anywhere near their first couple of records? No, of course it isn’t, but there’s enough here to justify their continuance as a going concern’

Independent ‘The result is a sixth album that – if not a return to the reckless voltage of their early days – finds them with a fresh spring in their strings

NME The Strokes have always kept their feelings at arm’s length, but there are traces of deeper introspection on The New Abnormal

Paste MagazineThis middlingly crafted assertion, though, does bring to mind just how implausible it sometimes feels that, despite the rocky, chaotic road behind them, The Strokes are here again. Just don’t call it a comeback’

PitchforkThe New Abnormal might capture how the Strokes are feeling: not ready to fade out, not primed for a comeback. Right now, they’re just way too tired

The QuietusMakes you wonder how much confidence The Strokes really have in their new material. Or whether they even like it. Let alone love it’

Riff MagazineMeanwhile, all-star producer Rick Rubin’s resurrecting touch and the long-form approach to the songs aids the Strokes in what is, depending on one’s perspective, either a comeback album, or a deeper dive into more of the same. Because it’s the Strokes, maybe it can be both

Rolling StoneSongs that feel like afterthoughts, but end up being surprisingly satisfying in their languid distracted chillness. The burden of being a Stroke has rarely felt airier’

StereogumAs the imagery piles up, the effect is electric, as if he’s willing the Strokes out of the abyss and into a new phase of life. But that last phase is inscrutable — a deafening shameful roar? Is that just some poetic myth-making at work, or is Casablancas as conflicted about this whole endeavour as I am?

Under The Radar The New Abnormal is the most vital and consistent the band has sounded in over a decade

VarietyIf this is The Strokes’ new abnormal, here’s hoping they never look back