The song is the first taste of the second part of Saxe’s two-part album
Multi-platinum pop storyteller JP Saxe returns with the gorgeously wistful “Strangers” featuring Argentinian star Tini, out now via Arista Records. The highly relatable new single is the first taste of Make Yourself at Home, out June 27th, the second installment of a two-part album kicked off last month with the seven-song set, Articulate Excuses. “Strangers” also arrives alongside a music video that finds the duo in Buenos Aires.
Saxe’s two-part album traces the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s journey through a series of personal revelations. Articulate Excuses pulls from a period in which Saxe worked to come to terms with his patterns and personhood thus far, while Make Yourself At Home focuses on the work-in-progress of implementing those learnings. Saxe describes the decision to split up the songs as “90 percent for creative reasons and 10 percent because of the pragmatism of navigating people’s increasingly nonexistent attention spans. I love my music so much and even l have trouble listening to 14 in a row. So how could I expect someone else to?” Each part has a unique sonic and thematic identity, but they combine to form a single powerful statement.
“Strangers” balances nostalgia with acceptance for a relationship that’s run its course. Over a muted beat and glistening keys, Saxe sees it from both sides, but when Tini joins for the chorus, that lost love feels real again: “If I come over, can we just pretend, it’s 2019 and I’m still just your friend? / And you can tell me everything, and I can hold you like it’s just that simple.”
Filmed in Argentina, the “Strangers” music video captures both Saxe’s introspection and the pair’s creative chemistry, moving between shots of him quietly exploring Buenos Aires and them working together in the studio, writing together and sharing a palpable sense of warmth.
Last year, after canvassing North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, Saxe shared a pair of performance LPs — A Grey Area (Live Sessions) — featuring acclaimed guest instrumentalists like Cory Henry and Tal Wilkenfeld — and Live on Stage, which included a solo version of his 2019 blockbuster, “If the World Was Ending.” Saxe has already proven himself to be a master of off-the-cuff intimacy, but in his current era, it’s clear he’s intent on bringing us in even closer.
