Alex Cameron - Forced Witness
Sep 29, 2019 (updated Sep 30, 2019)
NR
Can pop be fun again?

Yes, with Alex Cameron, the King of Musical Satire, as I like to dub him. In 2016, Alex Cameron proved that he could continue to exist after Seekae with his debut solo album "Jumping The Shark". The Australian dandy has made his conversion by flirting with 80's sounds. And since it worked, Cameron decided to release a second album "Forced Witness".

Surrounded by Jonathan Rado (Foxygen) at the production, Brandon Flowers (The Killers) and his saxophonist Roy Molloy, Alex Cameron continues to do what he does best: the crooner but with a kind of irony and parody without resorting to caricature. With pop hits worthy of the 1980s like "Candy May", "Runnin 'Outta Luck", the incredible "Country Figs" and the exellent "The Chihuahua", the Australian seems to have fun. Or not, actually.

Because even if the music can be festive and quite cheesy, Cameron's lyrics are less cheerful. For example, "Marlon Brando" is about the sexual misery of a homeless guy and the word "faggots" is repeated 20000 times during the album. But everything is so grandiose, catchy, ironic and fun so that we can aprove this album to 200%. The asinine lyrics make you both laugh and think, backed with head thumping, ass rocking 80’s pop influenced instrumentation. "Jumping The Shark" was the birth of the character, "Forced Witness" is the evolution.
 
PS: Never thought I would hear "faggot" several times in one pop song. This record is funny as hell, I grant it the LGBT+ co-sign.

Best tracks: "Candy May", "Runnin' Outta Luck", "Stranger's Kiss (feat. Angel Olsen)", "The Chihuahua", "True Lies", "Country Figs", "Marlon Brando", "StudMuffin96".

Worst track: "Politics Of Love"

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