Cameron Avery Announces Debut Solo Album 'Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams'
On March 10, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Cameron Avery will release his debut solo album Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams. Known for his work as the touring bassist for Tame Impala, Avery offers an ornate yet gritty sound driven by his soulful wit and sweeping arrangements.
With his deep, husky baritone, Avery harnesses the dark power and humor of artists like Nick Cave, Scott Walker, and Tindersticks. On his self-produced album, Avery channels train-wreck romanticism into timeless music for the modern age.
“I wanted to make something that sounded like the old records I love—Johnny Hartman, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James—the big band stuff with less metaphorical lyrics,” says Avery of the inspiration for Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams.
Premiering today, Avery’s new single “Wasted on Fidelity” is a wry and swinging glimpse into the debauched haze following a failed relationship.
Listen to “Wasted On Fidelity Now” https://soundcloud.com/antirecords/cameron-avery-wasted-on-fidelity/s-gRMzr
“My mindset at the time was that the only way I could provide happiness for myself is if I paid for it,” Avery explains. “The lyric says, ‘I gave myself to the sure things’; if I bought a beer, or a whiskey, or other such indulgences I got to consume them…But it’s kind of a dark mindset when you think about it: attempting to buy happiness.”
Based in New York City and originally from Western Australia, Avery had a longtime stint as the drummer for psych-rock band Pond. After joining Tame Impala in 2013, he continued shaping his singular identity as an artist and recorded solo material whenever he found himself home in Perth. Eventually creating Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams in L.A., Avery notes that the “whole landscape of the record changed in California.”
“I just started saying ‘yes’ to things while making the album,” Avery recalls. “I figured: I’m in my mid-20s, I play in a band, I live in Los Angeles—I’m ripe to dream. But the pipe dream, the underlying theme of the album, if you really listen, is that all I really want is to have someone in my life and to be in love.”
RIPE DREAMS, PIPE DREAMS TRACKLIST:
1. A Time and Place 2. Do You Know Me By Heart? 3. Dance With Me 4. Wasted On Fidelity 5. Big Town Girl 6. Disposable 7. The Cry Of Captain Hollywood 8. Watch Me Take It Away 9. An Ever Jarring Moment 10. C'est Toi (extended)