Forced Witness

Description

Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas and produced by Cameron and Jonathan Rado of Foxygen, the tracks on the album initially seem brazenly catchy with driving rhythms and exciting melodies enhanced by Roy Molloy's brass work. But the love songs and anthems of resistance on this album contain as much raw humanity as they reflect the loneliness of our time, as can be heard in 'Stranger’s Kiss' – Cameron's duet with Angel Olsen (who also provides vocals on the single 'Candy May'). The album also features 'Runnin’ Outta Luck', co-written and featuring Brandon Flowers; the grime of wet dreams in 'Country Figs' occupies the same space as the great sadness of the internet in the catchy and contemplative track 'True Lies', in which Cameron sings about this buzzing hive of random sexuality where we either succumb to our renunciations or let ourselves be corrupted by our fragile hopes. If there is darkness in these songs, it is not because taboos can titillate, but because Cameron knows that this confession has a redemptive power and that people are surprisingly beautiful when their worlds are falling apart. These songs thrive on the details of life, and the radical distinction between the stories they tell is universal. In these chaotic times, when one is able to look further, Cameron offers us a true vision of the world as he sees it.