Albums to watch

The New Abnormal

The Strokes

The New Abnormal

Sixth album from the New York indie rock band and first in seven years produced by Rick Rubin (Johnny Cash, Eminem, Kanye West)

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
BMGS4
UK Release date
10/04/2020
US Release date
10/04/2020
  1. 9.0 |   DIY

    The Strokes seem to have finally remembered exactly how magical they can be
    Read Review

  2. 9.0 |   All Music

    Full of passion, commitment, and creativity, The New Abnormal marks the first time in a while that the Strokes have made truly exciting music
    Read Review

  3. 8.5 |   Northern Transmissions

    On The New Abnormal, the Strokes sound more in sync than almost ever
    Read Review

  4. 8.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The New Abnormal cements their continued relevance when many had been written them off, and as ever they don’t seem to care either way
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   Clash

    Boisterous, bright and brilliant, the world’s favourite rock ‘n’ roll band shine, sounding better than they have for years. Intimate, outward-looking and probing, it’s an illustrious effort, which should become an instant classic
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   Long Live Vinyl

    We’ve finally got The Strokes’ first great album since First Impressions Of Earth 14 years ago. At last, audiences won’t just be waiting for Last Nite and NYC Cops next time they’re on tour. It’s time to cheer for the new tunes in concert, too.
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Gigwise

    The second coming of a band who collapsed and rebuilt
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   NME

    The Strokes have always kept their feelings at arm’s length, but there are traces of deeper introspection on their sixth album, which – despite itself – is something of a crowd-pleaser
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   Mojo

    For the first time in a while The Strokes shouldn't be gearing up for goodbye. Print edition only

  10. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Charged with a tense ennui fit for the present lockdown
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   XS Noize

    As we continue to climb the walls, at least for the foreseeable future, I don’t think it will be difficult for the revitalised Strokes to get our attention at all. Welcome back, boys!
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   The Music

    This is The Strokes in their prime
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    It’s up there with their best work while sounding boldly different from it. Throughout, there’s a sense that the band are trying again. It’s about time
    Read Review

  14. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The irascible rockers present a united front again to focus on taut, driven songs with catchy riffs
    Read Review

  15. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    The band seems happier and healthier together, while simultaneously pulling together their best set of songs in the past decade. Couple that with Rick Rubin’s cinematic production and you have the high point of the late-career Strokes records
    Read Review

  16. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    This is as fresh as a daisy
    Read Review

  17. 7.9 |   Gig Soup

    It’s a welcome return for the New Yorkers and a hugely enjoyable new album
    Read Review

  18. 7.5 |   Consequence Of Sound

    The one-time anointed saviors of rock and roll experience their own resurrectio
    Read Review

  19. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Might be their best since the glory days of the early ’00s
    Read Review

  20. 7.0 |   Uncut

    On several songs here Rubin helps peel back the years to reveal an energy and a passion that reminds you just how powerful was the band's initial proposition
    Read Review

  21. 6.2 |   Paste Magazine

    The seminal rock band’s long-awaited sixth album The New Abnormal is, as ever, equally exciting and drab
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    There’s a hint of Sinatra as these millennial bright young things lead their fans into middle-age
    Read Review

  23. 6.0 |   Q

    Casablancas's lyrics are, as ever, largely and deliberately incomprehensible, but enough phrases slip intermittently into the foreground to convince you that they must mean something. Print edition only

  24. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    While there is certainly some welcome comfort to the return of The Strokes, when the bar was set so spectacularly high on their first two albums, The New Abnormal is almost bound to be a slight disappointment, albeit a rather good one
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   The Quietus

    To their credit, the songs on The New Abnormal tend to hit a higher level of quality than last time around, albeit probably not enough to enable them to nudge out too many vintage tracks from The Strokes’ setlists
    Read Review

  26. 6.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    That we have a new Strokes album is something of a minor miracle
    Read Review

  27. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Frontman Julian Casablancas is back on passive-aggressive form as the New Yorkers deliver all-out pop and mid-paced fillers on their first album in seven years
    Read Review

  28. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    On their latest album, The New Abnormal, The Strokes have mirrored the career of Beck, offering a mimetic approximation of music they think people want, instead of music generated from their raw, inner demons or whatever fueled them on Is This It
    Read Review

  29. 6.0 |   The FT

    There are lapses, but the New York rockers finally sound in harmony again
    Read Review

  30. 6.0 |   Exclaim

    The New Abnormal is not a bad record, but it is a frustrating one, made by a band that feels pulled in a dozen different directions
    Read Review

  31. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    The best thing to do if you want to recapture the feeling of power and energy The Strokes once gave you would be to look elsewhere
    Read Review

  32. 5.7 |   Pitchfork

    The NYC band’s first album in seven years is sluggish and slight, rendering their signature sound as background music
    Read Review

  33. 5.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    This is what “the Strokes sound” is now – a wafer-thin drum machine fizzing at a skittish pace, with Casablancas properly singing over it and an endless guitar line that sounds like it’s coming from a keyboard
    Read Review

  34. 4.0 |   PopMatters

    The Strokes' The New Abnormal is an unabashedly uninspired promotional item for their upcoming world tour
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews