BMG Rights Management (label)
13 February 2026 (released)
9 h
Chet Faker returns with a soulful, joyous reflection on navigating love and a spatial awareness that only such an accomplished songwriter could achieve.
There are some artists that can get pinned down into a certain genre, some that find it hard to escape that niche that has been lassoed around their creative growth. Chet Faker has never been one of those, and ‘A Love For Strangers’ is another example of that. It is, however, a more mature and a more reflective Chet; it’s the record of an artist who you can tell is at their peak of fluid creativity and not confined to expressive shackles.
Chet’s lyrics and his ability to create a mood on this record are really something to marvel at. ‘Can You Swim?’ creates the perfect ambience to get his message across for the listener to sit and reflect at: a weaving melody played on a piano, with a light drum pad to float the song along, much like the lyricism. Chet uses swimming as a metaphor to discuss the complexion of love's uncertainties. The unpredictability of water is relentless, and although some may float better than others, it’s still erratic and tough to control:
“Love is a tidal wave
Come crashing down
And I am a passenger
About to drown”
Another brilliant stripped back, sombre moment is the track ‘Inefficient Love’. Unlike ‘Can You Swim’ having a feeling about a will to fight, Inefficient Love accepts its resignation: an acoustic guitar lightly strummed whilst Chet reinvents his romantic gestures as an analysis of self-reflection:
“God is tripping up my line
So who am I to start a fight?
My inefficient love
Again breaks my heart in two pieces”
There are songs that capture some of Chet’s energy that fans are familiar with. ‘1000 ways’ has a hazy piano accompanied by restrained snares and claps, which gives this song a perfect amount of energy whilst still sticking to this album's mood of romantic reflection. The following track ‘Far Side Of The Moon’ continues that energy. Ambient synths and soft pads give this song a sense of floating and being out of this atmosphere, much like the title suggests.
Chet Faker's return is something to excite fans both new and old. This album feels like it accomplishes the best of what Chet has to offer, with moments of synthetic grooves, Sombre Pianos, and honest lyricism. Chet Faker begins his tour in Australia on the 1st March, before heading over to the US at the end of April, then leading on to a series of Summer festivals in Europe.
