The Strokes Tease New Song ‘Starting Again’ in Campaign Ad for NYC Mayoral Candidate Maya Wiley

The Strokes teased a new song, “Starting Again,” in a campaign ad for New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. The clip arrives one day before the Democratic primary election for the NYC mayoral race, June 22nd, with the winner largely expected to win the general election in November.

The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas wrote “Starting Again” with Gregg Alexander, frontman of the New Radicals, with David Kahne and Alexander producing the track. The song is vintage Strokes with a driving drum beat and wiry guitar lines. In the new spot, “Starting Again” is paired with black-and-white footage of Wiley campaigning around New York City; it also features footage from the Strokes’ recent fundraiser concert for Wiley, which featured John Mulaney, Dev Hynes, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“In an era of voter suppression and mega-donors dismantling democracy, it’s crucial to remember New York City is too important to risk handing the reins of America’s most diverse metropolis to the same kind of party machine that’s controlled NY’s governance for most of the 20th century… one of Brooklyn clubhouse politics, big real-estate money, and mutual back-scratching,” Casablancas and Alexander said in a statement. “It is time we elect Maya as the city’s first woman mayor to make things better for all of our futures.”