Chet Faker returns with single ‘This Time For Real’ and upcoming album

Chet Faker has confirmed a new album, A Love For Strangers, due for release on 13th February 2026.

The Australian artist introduced lead single ‘This Time For Real’, marking his first major new work since 2021’s Hotel Surrender.

Faker, whose real name is Nick Murphy, first gained international attention when his 2014 debut Built On Glass topped the Australian ARIA charts. It featured tracks such as ‘Talk Is Cheap’ and earned him several ARIA awards. After a period recording under his own name, Murphy revived the Chet Faker moniker with Hotel Surrender in 2021.

In London just last week, Faker played two sold-out shows at HERE at Outernet, during which he previewed material from the new album. A Love For Strangers follows Hotel Surrender and signals a much welcomed return to the melodic vocals and pop-y sensibility that first brought him acclaim.

Suggested product

Dandy Tea Towel

Tea Towel

£12.00

Suggested product

Tina Brush T-Shirt

T-Shirt

£29.99

The video for ‘This Time For Real’ sees him roaming New York City landscapes in a jetski, sports car and pedicab, culminating in a bold finale.

Key production and writing details for the album are yet to be fully disclosed, but the single suggests a confident step into accessible pop. Faker’s background – starting off with a minimalist cover of Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ that circulated online – places him in a unique position: an artist who emerged from the blog-era underground, built commercial success, and now returns with a matured set of songs.

A Love For Strangers launches on 13th February 2026.

Editors’ Picks

• David Gilmour on why he’s “done” with Pink Floyd
  As Black Sabbath bow out, David Gilmour has ended hopes of a Pink Floyd reunion, calling it “fakery” without Rick Wright
• How AC/DC helped topple a dictator
  In 1989, the US military blasted AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and even Rick Astley to flush out Panama’s dictator Manuel Noriega. Here’s how it happened.
• Why Andy Warhol “loathed” David Bowie’s tribute to him
  David Bowie and Andy Warhol’s worlds collided in 1971 – but it wasn’t the artistic love-in Bowie hoped for
• How Sugar Ray Robinson inspired Miles Davis to get clean
  At the height of his early fame, Miles Davis fell into heroin. What got him clean wasn’t music, but the grit of a boxing champion
• The Police member Andy Summers blames for their split
  At their global peak, The Police broke up – this is Summers’ reflection on why and when things came undone
• Why did David Bowie change his name?
  Before Space Oddity made him a star he was David Jones, navigating confusion and identity, until he found his true artistic name

Keep up to date with the best in UK music by following us on Instagram: @whynowworld and on Twitter/X: @whynowworld