In a time when an artist’s potential to be turned into a meme can take precedence over the quality of their music, Australian singer and professional goof Alex Cameron proves that it’s possible to be totally sensational and a killer songwriter.
Hot on the heels of a run of dates with the Killers, Cameron is in the midst of a world tour behind his breakout 2017 album Forced Witness. While each song, full of jubilant sax riffs and playful synths, is a delightful earworm, Cameron’s absurd and often eyebrow-raising lyrics – finding him playing an alpha male, full of meat-headed bravado – stand in bizarre contrast to the sweet melodies.
“Runnin’ Outta Luck,” for instance, finds him robbing a bank with a stripper in tow. “I’m a man on a mission, you’re a stripper out of luck,” he sings like it’s a car commercial. Later, on “Stranger’s Kiss,” a duet with big-tent indie songwriter Angel Olsen, he offers one of the snarkiest kiss-offs in musical history: “In my dreams I miss you / but then I wake up to reality’s bliss.”
A more earnest side of Cameron’s persona was in effect during a recent interview in his tour van, in which the singer — along with his saxophonist and business partner Roy Molly — reminisced on some of their favorite tracks to pair with cannabis, for our recurring High Five segment. Listen in as the duo share some of their favorite moments from life on the road, recall some of their crappiest jobs and generally crack each other up.
Songs heard in this episode:
Alex Cameron – Studmuffin96
Bob Dylan – The Man in Me
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues
Dire Straits – Water of Love
The Flash and the Pan – Waiting for a Train
People Under the Stairs – Acid Raindrops