O
n his debut solo record,
Jumping the Shark, Sydney
vocalist Alex Cameron po-
sitioned himself as the hap-
less schmuck, arriving on the scene fully-
formed as a burned-out loser – “I used to be
the number one entertainer,” he snarled on
“The Comeback”. In the time between that
album’s 2013 release and this month’s fol-
low-up, Forced Witness, Cameron has lived
his art, detached from his Australian home-
land while spending time on U.S. and Euro-
pean roads with saxophonist (and business
partner) Roy Molloy.
“I think support slots are often looked
upon with a decent amount of shame,” says
Cameron, minutes after warming up a
Nashville stage for Foster the People. “When
we get asked to support a band, it’s like get-
ting vouched for in some respect.
Istartedsayingafewyearsago
we were the best support act on
the planet. If you make the most
ofworkingwithmoresuccess-
fulbands,yougetmotivationto
bring a greater level of musicality
to your own record.”
The most pronounced nod of
approval came from the frontman
of resurgent indie titans the Killers, with
BrandonFlowersnamingthe2016reissue
ofJumping the Sharkhis favourite album
of that year. A creative bond extended from
meretouringpartnersintostudiocollabo-
ration – Cameron contributing to the Kill-
ers’ new albumWonderf ul Wonderf ul,and
Flowers contributing songwriting and back-
ingvocalsonForced Witness.“Therewasa
momentwherewewerewritingandhesaid,
‘That’sareallygoodline.I’llneverhaveto
sing it again.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’
Hisbestlines,theaudiencesingforhim.I
justthought,holyshit.Itwasacaseofsome-
one at that level tapping me and Roy on the
shoulder, spending weeks at a time writing
and driving around Vegas. The themes of
Forced Witnesshave a lot to do with desti-
tution and bankrupt morality. It was exhil-
aratingtobethere.”
OnForced Witness– in which Cameron
fleshes out threadbare karaoke instrumen-
tation into something resembling stadium-sized aspiration, crooning over bastardised
synth-pop in the vein of Leonard Cohen’s
“I’m Your Man” – it’s hard to distinguish
between artifice and honesty. On lead sin-
gle “Candy May”, Cameron boasts about
“packing heat”. Its video showcases the sing-
er shirtless, covered in a rash he initially
thought to be a symptom of syphilis (later
diagnosed as pityriasis). On “Marlon Bran-
do”, satire sit s uncomfor tably w ith use of ho -
mophobic slur, with a following verse fea-
turing a pseudo-apology. “There’s a blurred
line between character and reality,” he rea-
sons. “My favourite books, songs, and mov-
ies highlight the unreliability of the human
storyteller. I try to infiltrate that with music.
I have no desire to be on stage singing songs
about nothing, that’s a vision of hell for me.”
It’s been two years since Cameron set
foot on Australian soil, where he
started with esteemed electron-
ica trio Seekae (who are still ac-
tive). The closest thing he has to
a home base these days is New
York, the setting for his new-
found romance with Girls actor
Jemima Kirke. “If we have five
days off, we go to New York. We
spend a lot of money on flights.
Me and Roy both [have] romantic engage-
ments in New York, and that’s a beautiful
thing to have if you’re a touring musician,
and you have a partner that tolerates that- or they have their own shit going on so they
actually require you to be absent.”
Kirke directs and stars in the video for
Cameron’s duet with Angel Olsen, “Strang-
er’s Kiss”, the shoot for which was captured
by paparazzi. “A friend sent that through
to me,” he marvels. “Jesus Christ, isn’t that
fucking ridiculous?”
“She’s had a big impact on the visual di-
rection of the record,” Cameron adds of
Kirke. “We rely heavily on the input of our
vastly more intelligent partners. Women
have been a huge impact on what we do as
musicians and writers. We don’t have much
money, we rely on people seeing that they
can get something out of us in terms of cre-
ativity. I do feel like I’m in a decent place
emotionally,” he concludes. “I feel very at-
tached to love, and work.”
THE GREAT
PRETENDER
BY LACHLAN KANONIUKAlex Cameron is making
friends in high placesCLOSE-UP
“I have no
desire to be
onstage
singing songs
about nothing.
That’s a vision
of hell for me.”66 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com