Alex Cameron announces new album and North American tour, shares “Best Life”
Oxy Music drops March 11 on Secretly Canadian.
Alex Cameron has added North American dates to his spring 2022 North American tour, announced his fourth album and shared its second single, "Best Life." Oxy Music, out March 11 via Secretly Canadian, was inspired by Nico Walker's 2018 addiction novel Cherry. Like the book, Cameron's new project is a character study examining the factors that lead to opiate addiction.
"The album is a story, a work of fiction, mostly from the perspective of a man," he writes. 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."
"Best Life" follows November's "Sarah Jo" as Oxy Music's second single but is the album's opening track. The song introduces us to our protagonist in the throes of social media obsession, a habit even more endemic to American life than drug addiciton.
"There's nothing like the feeling / Of when you do a thing / Or just wake up like this / Like what even is life? I guess that I'm just winning," Cameron begins, immediately assaulting us with lyrics few other artists could sell.
The rest of the song plays an upbeat melody and cheery tune against the hollowness of its lyrics for common effect. Ultimately, though, it's message is hopeful, as evidenced by its music video. Directed by Jemima Joe Kirke (of Girls fame), the short stars Kirke and Cameron as a mismatched couple who are able to find strength in each other's imperfections.
Read Cameron's full statement on the song, and check out his newly announced U.S. tour dates, below.
The Internet. Our great Totem of information dedicated to the Gods yet to visit from a future born out of 7.9 billion online versions of human history. A tower of love and hate, passion and terror, one million retweets of ten hundred thousand total fails. America's funniest home videos. Our best, most dope memes crowned atop the statue our greatest achievements, the shoulders that lift the grand dome of internet glory. The view from the top is gorgeous. A stunning likeness of the most like-able content.
And holding it up, the weight bearing colossus of whisper-solid data and hollow columns of caps locked opinions and giant pillars of twisted logic. Zero Likes. Zero Comments. Zero shares. Infinitely multiplied until too mountain-like to move. The greatest show on earth performed to an audience of nobody.
One percent is what we see and what we follow drifting atop the cloud. It's beautiful, what we've created. And the masses below sing into the chamber, echoes of their love songs clashing and rebounding off one another's - the messages too distorted to discern. Received by nobody. But necessary for everybody.
Let's face it, we'll never make content good enough for the Gods above. Let's leave that to the disciples. The rest of us can just stay out here, living our best lives.
Alex Cameron spring 2022 North American tour dates
4/28 - Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco
4/30 - Columbus, OH - SoupFest 2022
5/7 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
5/8 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue
5/9 - Detroit, MI - El Club
5/12 - Toronto, ON - The Axis Club
5/13 - Montreal, QBC - Ausgang Plaza
5/14 - Burlington, VT - Waking Windows
5/15 - New Haven, CT - Space Ballroom
5/17 - Boston, MA - The Sinclair
5/18 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
5/19 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
5/20 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
5/21 - New York, NY - Webster Hall