Oxy Music

Album review

"The album is a story, a work of fiction, mostly from the perspective of a man, starved of meaningful purpose, confused about the state of the world, and in dire need of a reason to live - a person can, and according to the latest statistics, increasingly will, turn to opioids. This is one of those people," says Alex Cameron. In his third full-length album, the Sydney-born musician continues his fictional work, through a character who talks about current narcotic tendencies and the hollowness of social networks. The album’s title is a clever play on the words Roxy Music and oxy–a short form of the powerful painkiller OxyContin–and is the perfect metaphor for his glam soundtrack with a trash undercurrent. Despite the heavy nature of the subject matter, Cameron dresses it up in his usual humour, flare and energy. His sound is somewhere between the synthetic 80s and cheesy pop, but it’s still oh-so-charming because it's well polished and never cumbersome. Roy Molloy plays his sexy sax (Hold the Line), there’s incredible keyboards, and Alex Cameron is in top form like always. Lloyd Vines is a guest rapper on the R’n’B track Cancel Culture, which stands out in the Australian’s repertoire, and Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods performs a spoken-word for the album’s super-charged pop finale. This release proves that this showman is always full of surprises. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz