News
4 October 2026 – Strawberry Guy Decides It Only Gets Better Ahead of His First Album in Five Years
By Editorial Team - October 4, 2026
Summary
Welsh indie-pop songwriter Strawberry Guy shares Only Gets Better, the final single previewing sophomore album Give Me A Dream, arriving October 23 via AWAL.
Key Facts
- Welsh songwriter Strawberry Guy releases 'Only Gets Better', the final preview of sophomore LP Give Me A Dream (out October 23 via AWAL).
- The release marks Alex Stephens' first full-length album in five years following breakthrough track Mrs Magic.
- Give Me A Dream contains fourteen tracks addressing anxiety with gentle, piano-led optimism.
- Entities: Strawberry Guy, Alex Stephens, Only Gets Better, Give Me A Dream, Mrs Magic, Love Me Like You Used To, AWAL, Wales
- Tags: strawberry-guy, alex-stephens, only-gets-better, give-me-a-dream, indie-pop, dream-pop, awal
Welsh indie-pop songwriter Strawberry Guy — Alex Stephens when filling out official paperwork — has returned with "Only Gets Better," the final preview of sophomore album Give Me A Dream, due October 23 through AWAL. The song received fresh attention this weekend and offers a gently optimistic answer to anxiety, driven by Stephens' characteristic piano melodies and soft-focus vocal arrangements.
Previous singles "Love Me Like You Used To" and "I'll Never Feel That Young Again" have already suggested that Give Me A Dream will preserve the intimate, nostalgic atmosphere that helped breakthrough track "Mrs Magic" travel far beyond its original audience. "Only Gets Better" is particularly effective because its optimism does not sound like somebody shouting affirmations through a megaphone. Stephens describes the song as fundamentally being about anxiety and the possibility of glimpsing a future that might actually improve. That uncertainty makes the hope believable.
Give Me A Dream will be Strawberry Guy's first album in five years, a fairly luxurious interval in an industry currently encouraging artists to release something every twelve minutes in case an algorithm becomes distracted. The wait appears deliberate rather than inactive: fourteen tracks are scheduled for the new record, suggesting Stephens has been building an actual album rather than an administrative folder containing recent singles. Apparently patience occasionally does get better.