Explaining the enigma that is Alex Cameron can take quite a bit of effort. After first making his name as a member of the electronic act Seekae, the Australian singer-songwriter took on a high-concept act, adopting the persona of a failed entertainer “whose life is a constellation of microscopic tragedies.”
Cameron’s 2013 debut LP Jumping the Shark was re-released just last year via Secretly Canadian, and he has been consistently getting his name out there more and more.
Cameron has recently announced the release of his upcoming sophomore solo LP Forced Witness, wet for a September 8th release date via Secretly Canadian. After sharing the singles “Candy May” and “Stranger’s Kiss,” the duet with Angel Olsen, Cameron now presents “Runnin’ Outta Luck” along with a new music video.
The clip was filmed in the Hastings, UK seaside and directed by Nick MacMahon, featuring a lot of posing in jeans and vests, as well as some unusual (to say the least) dance moves. Longtime partner and saxophonist Roy Molloy also joins him, and they have a duet on the windy cliffside like they’re imitating a hair metal ballad. Because of course.
The track has a pretty incredible lineup behind it: the song was written by Cameron, Molloy (saxophone) and Brandon Flowers (backing vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass) of the Killers, and features Jonathan Rado (guitars, keyboards, bass) and Kirin J Callinan (guitar).
“Most of the time me ‘n’ Roy have around 80 bucks in our business bank account,” recounted Cameron about the songwriting process. “Good money. Kind of money makes you taste every egg in the omelet. I remember we’d played a show in Tallahassee to about seven people, and we were driving over to Atlanta to make a flight. Spirits were high. What with Roy tapping at the steering wheel and me eating my peanut M&Ms. Then my phone vibrated in my pocket. But it wasn’t a notification about terrorism or another nude on my Instagram. It was an email from Brandon Flowers.
Take about two months outta the equation and find me ‘n’ Roy living at the Palms Resort up on Flamingo out there off the Vegas strip. Bein’ far from a millionaire doesn’t mean you can’t live like a millionaire and success doesn’t always hinge on good luck, it can be about other people’s bad luck. Brandon was in a bind with his lyrics, and we were in a bind with our never having come close to a radio hit.
Me, Roy ‘n’ Brandon wrote this song in a day after hiking out to old Icebox Canyon they got out there. Kinda place where they filmed James Gandolfini crying. Kinda place where guys with ponytails climb cliff faces without spotters.
You don’t have to be lucky. Just make sure everyone around you stays unlucky.”
Check out the music video for “Runnin’ Outta Luck” below.