JP Saxe’s third full-length album follows a period of upheaval and reckoning in the Canadian singer-songwriter’s life: It’s his first independent release after parting ways with his longtime label Arista, and it comes after a very public tour-cancellation announcement in the summer of 2025 where he openly admitted the ticket-sale math just wasn’t mathin’. So, it’s understandable that Saxe would want to hit the reset button and seek comfort in his formative influences: On Okay Piano Guy’s opening title track, he name-drops Carole King (writer of “the first song I ever learned how to play”), while channeling the spirit of Randy Newman tickling the ivories in an empty hotel lounge circa 1975. But Okay Piano Guy is ultimately less a stripped-down back-to-basics move than a recalibration of Saxe’s strengths, using the piano as the primary vessel for his achingly intimate storytelling and as the foundation for his more grandiose visions: For every lo-fi field-recording lullaby like the wistfully nostalgic “Toronto Feels Like You,” there’s a rousing alt-pop anthem like “Soft Spot” and “Another Sad Story” that suggests Saxe’s concert-hall-conquering dreams are still very much intact. Our Favorite Track: “When I Lose You”—a reminder that the guy who wrote the blockbuster ballad “If the World Was Ending” is still a master of the ride-or-die romantic serenade.