The Strokes brought new music to late night with a performance of “Falling Out of Love” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, offering a timely preview of their forthcoming album Reality Awaits.
The performance, reported by Billboard, places the band firmly in album-rollout mode. “Falling Out of Love” comes from Reality Awaits, which is due June 26, giving listeners a first look at one of the songs shaping the next chapter for the group.
For a band with a long-standing relationship to tightly framed guitar music and coolly controlled presentation, a late-night appearance is a particularly direct kind of statement. It is not a press release or a teaser clip. It is a full-band performance, delivered in front of a television audience, with the song asked to stand on its own.
That matters in the current cycle. With Reality Awaits on the calendar, The Strokes are no longer simply hinting at what is coming. By choosing “Falling Out of Love” for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, they have given the album campaign a public focal point and a song title fans can now attach to the upcoming release.
The timing also keeps the emphasis on the music rather than speculation. The album is set for June 26, and the band has a 2026 tour planned. Those two pieces of information create a clear runway: a new record first, then a larger live schedule to follow.
Late-night performances continue to occupy a specific role in the way rock bands introduce new eras. They are formal but not stiff, promotional but still performance-driven. In that format, a new song can feel less like an announcement and more like an arrival. For The Strokes, “Falling Out of Love” now becomes part of the public conversation around Reality Awaits before the album itself is out.
The song title also lands with a directness that suits an album rollout built on restraint. Without needing extra explanation, “Falling Out of Love” suggests emotional distance and transition, themes that naturally invite attention ahead of the full project. The band has not needed to overframe the moment; the performance does the work of introducing the track.
As the June 26 release date approaches, this appearance gives listeners a concrete point of entry. Reality Awaits is no longer just an upcoming title on the calendar. It now has a televised performance attached to it, and a newly spotlighted song at the center of the conversation.
The planned 2026 tour adds another layer to that momentum. While details beyond the existence of the tour were not included in the report, its placement after the album release suggests that the material from Reality Awaits will have time to settle before the band takes it further into the live setting.
For now, the focus remains on “Falling Out of Love” and the Colbert stage. The Strokes have used a concise, visible performance to mark the next phase of their return, setting up Reality Awaits with the kind of understated confidence that makes a new song feel like news in itself.
