The New Abnormal

The New Abnormal received very positive reviews from critics, many of whom considered the album a return to form for the band. Praise was directed particularly towards the maturity of singer Julian Casablancas' lyrics as well as the band's improved sense of musical cohesion. The album reached No. 1 in Scotland and the top ten in six other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, the band's first nomination and win.

Background and recording[edit]

Writing sessions for The New Abnormal dated as far back as 2016, following the release of the band's Future Present Past extended play from the same year. Guitarist Nick Valensi had told DIY that they were "slowly but surely" making progress on the album.^[3] The following year, Albert Hammond, father of guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., told The West Australian that the Strokes were working with Rick Rubin on an upcoming album.^[4] Hammond Jr. responded to this via Twitter, stating that they were only presenting musical ideas to him and were not in any recording sessions.^[5] The band would eventually begin recording sessions with Rubin at his Shangri-La studio in Malibu, California. Additional recording took place at Studio City Sound, Lucy's Meat Market, Groove Masters, and Joel and Zach's Studio, all in Los Angeles County, as well as Mauka View in Princeville, Hawaii.^[1]


On May 13, 2019, the band performed live for the first time in two years at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, premiering a new song entitled "The Adults Are Talking".^[6] The show was the first of what was dubbed a "global comeback tour".^[7] Early shows were plagued by technical difficulties ranging from sound issues^[8] to rain-outs^[9] to cancellations of entire festivals, partly due to COVID-19.^[10]

Composition[edit]

Music critics have generally considered The New Abnormal to be an indie rock album.^[11][12][13] Matty Pywell of Gigwise wrote that it blended indie rock and "new wave mixed with electronica".^[13] Writing for Newsweek, James Crowley wrote that the album sonically leans more towards the "disco-tinged post-punk than the garage rock they made their name with,"^[14] while Kitty Empire of The Observer labeled it as "all-out pop".^[15] Writers have also considered the album as having elements of 1980s pop music,^[16][12] glam rock,^[11] and dream pop.^[11] The album houses the same style of dueling guitar riffs heard on the Strokes' previous albums.^[17] Harrison Screen of Vinyl Chapters found that it also carries on the tradition of the band blending "a vintage feel into modern-day," adding that "these songs are straight from the seventies."^[18] Reviewers found that the second half of the album has a much slower pace and is more dedicated to ballads.^[17][16] The album also includes a series of outtakes of studio chatter interspersed throughout the album.^[15] Many lyrics on the album are thought to refer to Casablancas' divorce from his wife Juliet Joslin.^[19]


Two songs on the album incorporate vocal melodies from other songs, both of which include songwriting credits for the original performers.^[1] The chorus of "Bad Decisions" uses the vocal melody from the chorus of "Dancing with Myself" (1980) by Generation X,^[11][20] and some of "Eternal Summer" uses the vocal melody from the chorus of "The Ghost in You" (1984) by the Psychedelic Furs.^[21]

Packaging[edit]

The cover art for The New Abnormal features the 1981 painting Bird on Money by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.^[22] The album's title was inspired by a quote made by former California governor Jerry Brown in November 2018 in the midst of the California wildfires.^[23] Brown had responded to the emergency events being labeled "the new normal" by instead calling them "the new abnormal".^[24] The wildfires had especially impacted Malibu, the location of Rubin's Shangri-La studio at which the band were recording the album, though the studio itself was left unharmed. This chain of events influenced the band to use the quote as the title for their album.^[23] Despite the album title having been revealed in February 2020 and instead referencing Brown's quote, New York Times writer Jon Pareles noted in his review of the album that the title was a fitting description for public life during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[25] Strokes singer Julian Casablancas also noted during the pandemic that the title "feels so prescient because of the parallel between something like coronavirus".^[23]