Oxy Music Explained

Oxy Music
Type:studio
Artist:Alex Cameron
Cover:Oxy Music (Alex Cameron).png
Label:Secretly Canadian
Producer:Alex Cameron
Prev Title:Miami Memory
Prev Year:2019

Oxy Music is the fourth studio album by Australian musician Alex Cameron, released on 11 March 2022 by the record label Secretly Canadian.[1] Produced by Cameron himself, the album maintains his distinct storytelling style from the perspectives of various characters. Initially inspired by Nico Walker's autofictional novel Cherry (2018), Oxy Music primarily revolves around a fictional man grappling with the opioid epidemic in the United States.[2] The album's release was preceded by the singles "Sara Jo",[3] "Best Life"[4] and "K Hole".[5] Critically, the album has garnered generally favorable reviews.

Critical reception

Oxy Music was released to a positive reception from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Ryan Bell of DIY wrote, "Its steady pace and relatively tame nature (by his standards) means it might not be his most immediately striking release, but it's still testament to his talent as an astute alt-pop songwriter." Michael Di Gennaro of Exclaim wrote, "Oxy Musics greatest strength is that it makes the plight of an addict easy to understand and sympathize with, and may even help addicts who tune in feel less alone."

In a negative review, Sophie Kemp of Pitchfork criticized the album's production as being among the weakest in Cameron's career. Kemp also criticized its concept, writing, "More than anything, it takes on the quality of a short story written by a young student trying to cram as many neon lights, bongs, uzis, blow jobs, g-strings, and jokes into 10 pages as possible. For how clearly smart, ambitious, and upsettingly tuneful Cameron is, it’s a pity that he uses his talent for these exercises in sophistry, music that feels so vacuous and fleeting that it becomes one with the very modernity it seeks to lampoon."

Personnel

Performance
Technical
Art

Charts

Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Peak
position
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[6] 99

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corcoran. Nina. 20 January 2022. Alex Cameron Announces New Album and Tour, Shares New Song "Best Life". 11 March 2022. Pitchfork.
  2. Web site: 11 March 2022. Oxy Music by Alex Cameron. 11 March 2022. Bandcamp.
  3. Web site: Helfand. Raphael. 17 November 2021. Alex Cameron gets back in character for "Sara Jo" . 11 March 2022 . The Fader.
  4. Web site: Brodsky . Rachel . 20 January 2022 . Alex Cameron – "Best Life" . 11 March 2022 . Stereogum.
  5. Web site: Young . David James . 1 March 2022 . Alex Cameron falls into a 'K Hole' on third single from 'Oxy Music' . 11 March 2022 . NME.
  6. Alex Cameron Chart History: Top Current Albums . . 24 March 2022.