Selfless (song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The New Abnormal'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band
the Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
, released on April 10, 2020, through
Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
and
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
. It was their first full-length album since ''
Comedown Machine ''Comedown Machine'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Strokes. It was released on March 26, 2013, through RCA Records. The band decided to pull a media blackout for the album, with no promotion in the form of television appear ...
'' (2013), marking the longest gap between studio albums by the band. The album was produced by
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
and recorded at his
Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
studio in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
, with additional recording taking place at studios in
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
and
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. The Strokes began performing songs from the album for the first time throughout 2019 before revealing the album's track list and cover art in early 2020. "
At the Door "At the Door" is a song by American rock band The Strokes. The song was released on February 11, 2020, as the lead single from their sixth studio album, ''The New Abnormal'' (2020). An accompanying animated music video was released on the same d ...
", " Bad Decisions", and "
Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus" is a song by American rock band The Strokes. The song was released on April 6, 2020, as the third single from their sixth studio album, ''The New Abnormal'' (2020). The song was featured as part of the soundtrack to t ...
" were released as singles prior to the album's release, with "
The Adults Are Talking "The Adults Are Talking" is a song by American rock band the Strokes, the opening track on their sixth studio album, ''The New Abnormal'' (2020). It was released to alternative radio as the album's fourth single on November 3, 2020. It was produ ...
" being released to radio months later. ''The New Abnormal'' received highly 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 Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...
' 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 The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best Rock Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, the band's first nomination and win.


Background and recording

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. The following year, Albert Hammond, father of guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., told ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' that the Strokes were working with
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
on an upcoming album. Hammond Jr. responded to this via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, stating that they were only presenting musical ideas to him and were not in any recording sessions. The band would eventually begin recording sessions with Rubin at his
Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
studio in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
. 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 Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
, as well as Mauka View in Princeville, Hawaii. On May 13, 2019, the band performed live for the first time in two years at the Wiltern Theatre in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, premiering a new song entitled "
The Adults Are Talking "The Adults Are Talking" is a song by American rock band the Strokes, the opening track on their sixth studio album, ''The New Abnormal'' (2020). It was released to alternative radio as the album's fourth single on November 3, 2020. It was produ ...
". The show was the first of what was dubbed a "global comeback tour". Early shows were plagued by technical difficulties ranging from sound issues to rain-outs to cancellations of entire festivals, partly due to COVID-19.


Composition

Music critics have generally considered ''The New Abnormal'' to be an
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
album. Matty Pywell of '' Gigwise'' wrote that it blended indie rock and " new wave mixed with
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
". Writing for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'', James Crowley wrote that the album sonically leans more towards the "
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
-tinged
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
than the
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
they made their name with," while Kitty Empire of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' labeled it as "all-out pop". Writers have also considered the album as having elements of
1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
,
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
, and
dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...
. The album houses the same style of dueling guitar riffs heard on the Strokes' previous albums. 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." Reviewers found that the second half of the album has a much slower pace and is more dedicated to
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s. The album also includes a series of outtakes of studio chatter interspersed throughout the album. Many lyrics on the album are thought to refer to Casablancas' divorce from his wife Juliet Joslin. Two songs on the album incorporate vocal melodies from other songs, both of which include songwriting credits for the original performers. The chorus of " Bad Decisions" uses the vocal melody from the chorus of " Dancing with Myself" (1980) by
Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...
, and some of "Eternal Summer" uses the vocal melody from the chorus of " The Ghost in You" (1984) by
the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
.


Packaging

The cover art for ''The New Abnormal'' features the 1981 painting '' Bird on Money'' by American artist
Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...
. The album's title was inspired by a quote made by former California governor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
in November 2018 in the midst of the California wildfires. Brown had responded to the emergency events being labeled "the new normal" by instead calling them "the new abnormal". 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. Despite the album title having been revealed in February 2020 and instead referencing Brown's quote, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Strokes singer
Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...
also noted during the pandemic that the title "feels so prescient because of the parallel between something like coronavirus".


Promotion

To compensate for the cancellation of their performance at the Governors Ball Music Festival on June 2, 2019, the band played a special
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
show at
Barclays Center Barclays Center ( ) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liber ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
with Mac DeMarco, Kirin J Callinan and Hinds. During the show, Casablancas announced the release of a new album, stating, "Yeah, we've got a new album coming out soon ... The 2010s, whatever the fuck they're called, we took 'em off. And now we've been unfrozen and we're back." The band also premiered another new song entitled " Ode to the Mets". Other notable performances included a rally for
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
in Durham, New Hampshire on February 10, 2020, alongside
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...
, Sunflower Bean, Cynthia Nixon, and
Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...
. There, Casablancas confirmed that the new album, titled ''The New Abnormal'', would be released on April 10, while the band debuted one new song, "Bad Decisions", and screened a music video for another, "At the Door". To further promote the record, the band released a series of self-produced videos titled and stylized as "5guys talking about things they know nothing about." The band explained that "...we wanted to see if we could connect with folks, and turned what was supposed to be a pirate radio thing for our album release (which we would make in-person) into a video chat instead..." The first episode premiered on April 8, 2020, and in the following episode, released April 9, 2020, the band previewed the entire record. The Strokes performed "The Adults Are Talking" and "Bad Decisions" during the October 31, 2020, episode of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''s 46th season. "The Adults Are Talking" was released as a radio play single, impacting
alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
stations, on November 3, 2020.


Critical reception

At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 75, based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Most critics praised the mature lyrics and highlighted the members' return to form after a period of tension and apathy from within the group.
Will Hodgkinson Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian ...
of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' awarded the album five out of five stars, labeling it their "second masterpiece", following '' Is This It'' (2001). He praised Rick Rubin's production as well as the album's overall sound, saying that "the Strokes sound like a band again." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the album an A−, acknowledging that "twenty years on from the band's first flush of stardom, ''Abnormal'' offers something better than reckless youth: rock stars finally old enough to miss those good old days—and wise enough now, too, to give us the soundtrack these strange new times deserve." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' awarded the album four stars, with Ella Kemp remarking, "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." In the review for
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Heather Phares praised the album, calling it " ll of passion, commitment, and creativity" and proclaiming that "''The New Abnormal'' marks the first time in a while that the Strokes have made truly exciting music." Giving the verdict for ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'', Tyler Clark stated that "Even with its inevitable blemishes, The New Abnormal is easily the freshest, most interesting album that The Strokes have released in more than a decade. While the band haven't proven to be the single-handed savior that rock music always seems to be searching for, they have made the case for taking a slow-burn approach to collaboration and creativity. In that respect, this album might just be the first step along a new, more invigorated path." Rachel Aroesti also provided a positive assessment in the review for ''
the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', writing that "when they put their minds to it, that old magic is still well within the Strokes's grasp." Some reviewers were more critical in their judgement of the album. In the review for ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'', Sam Sodomsky mentioned that "the Strokes' sixth album and first in seven years, mostly just feels like a hangover. It's sluggish and slight, and the strongest hooks are so familiar that they require additional writing credits for the '80s hits they copy note-for-note".
Neil McCormick Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been the chief music critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV (TV channel), Vintage TV i ...
of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' gave the album three stars out of five, criticizing its "cheesy Eighties synths and dinky disco beats" as well as Julian Casablancas' lyrics, but praised its instrumentation and Casablancas's vocals, as well as Rick Rubin's production for making The Strokes sound "pretty damn fantastic again." Reviewing the album for ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'', Kaelen Bell had mixed feelings, saying that it is "not a bad record, but it is a frustrating one, made by a band that feels pulled in a dozen different directions." Kitty Empire of ''
the Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' also regarded the album as a "frustrating listen despite its gleam", adding that "faster tempos would have helped."


Commercial

On the US ''Billboard'' 200, ''The New Abnormal'' debuted at number 8 with 35,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, 23,000 were in album sales, 11,000 in SEA units and less than 1,000 in TEA units. The album reached number 1 on the
Top Album Sales The Top Album Sales is a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's top-selling albums in the United States. The chart has been published since December 13, 2014, although the magazine also retrospectively recognize ...
chart, making it the highest-selling album in terms of pure sales for that week.


Accolades


Track listing

All lyrics are written by
Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...
; all music is composed by the Strokes, except where noted.


Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. The Strokes *
Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...
– vocals * Albert Hammond Jr. – guitars * Nick Valensi – guitars, digital guitar on "At The Door" * Nikolai Fraiture – bass * Fabrizio Moretti – drums, keyboards on "At The Door" Artwork *
Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...
– cover painting ('' Bird on Money'', 1981) * Tina Ibañez – art direction, design * Jason McDonald – photography Technical personnel *
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
– production * Jason Lader – engineering, mixing (tracks 4–7, 9) * Pete Min – additional engineering * Rob Bisel – assistant engineering * Dylan Neustadter – assistant engineering * Kevin Smith – assistant engineering * Gus Oberg – pre-production demo recordings and engineering * Chris Tabron – additional pre-production recordings and engineering * Ben Baptie – mixing (tracks 1–3, 8) * Stephen Marcussen – mastering * Stewart Whitmore – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Abnormal 2020 albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin Cult Records albums Grammy Award for Best Rock Album RCA Records albums The Strokes albums Albums recorded at Shangri-La (recording studio) New wave albums by American artists Electronic albums by American artists