Alex the Astronaut shares the sublimely devastating yet hopeful new single “Airport” on the heels of the recently announced news that the singer, songwriter and storyteller will return to Austin, TX for SXSW 2022. Encompassing equal parts awareness and sensitivity, imagination and idiosyncratic humor, “Airport” spins a cinematic portrait of the forced separation of quarantine and its emotional fallout. Accompanying the track is a poignant new video featuring footage filmed by Alex as she traveled from Sydney to New York – the place where she started her music career while on a soccer scholarship at Long Island University – on a journey towards an emotional reunion many years in the making.

“I was seeing that separation all around and experiencing it myself, and I wanted to write about what happens when you meet up with someone you care about after such a long time, and all the pressure that comes with that,” notes Alex. She also adds, “I wanted to write a love story that doesn’t have an end, that you can choose what happens to them. Pick your adventure.”

In a particularly powerful twist, Alex floods the verses to “Airport” with a feverish account of regret and longing and minor envies (“And the song that played was Phoebe Bridgers/I turned it off ’cause I was jealous I didn’t make it”), then takes on a stunning directness at the chorus (its sole lyric: “I’ve loved you all this time”). Throughout “Airport,” the impact of Alex’s outpouring is made all the more potent by the track’s choir-like harmonies, as well as a heavenly string arrangement courtesy of L.A.-based musician Daniel Chae (Run River North).

“Airport”is the sequel to the avid storyteller’s single “Growing Up,” which landed late last year. Alex shares, “It’s a follow up to ‘Growing Up’ when you work out, you have to reflect, admit your mistakes, and do some work to be in a proper relationship.”

Photo Courtesy: Jess Gleeson