Album Review: "Lamentations" by American Aquarium
By Michael Momper
If you are in need of some fulfilling reflection and honest soul-searching to listen to during quarantine, look no further than American Aquarium's latest album, Lamentations.
This is a band whose upward trajectory is one unlike any I've seen in a long time. Singer and songwriter BJ Barham has long shown extraordinary potential as an honest craftsman of rootsy country-rock, but not until 2018's Things Change did this band deliver an almost seamlessly excellent album top-to-bottom. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of other great bright spots on past albums; Wolves and Burn, Flicker, Die are what really pulled me in years ago, with wonderfully honest storytelling and reflections on the white-knuckle struggles of rural America. But with Things Change I really began to see the maturity of BJ's craft. It is an album full of empathy but also urgency, and contains very thought-provoking reflections on hard work and the American dream.
The more and more I listen to Lamentations, their new release, the more I could see it as almost a linear continuation of Things Change. In the meantime, BJ has had his first child, and with his new life experiences and ruminations he has delivered somehow an even more mature batch of songs. They are intensely reflective and at times stern, but always nuanced. There are no brow-beating sermons on this album. Though some songs like "Me and Mine" and "A Better South" have tinges of political commentary, it is very thoughtful without feeling partisan or preachy. Empathy is the name of the game. BJ's writing shows maturity in the fact that he doesn't go around pointing fingers but rather asks what he can do better and pleads that we remember those who are marginalized and cast aside in this convoluted political system of ours. He is sympathetic to the cause of the working man in middle America who is always putting his shoulder to the plow but is seemingly stuck in a dead-end town bereft of 21st century money-making opportunities. His vision is one delivered with a maturity reminiscent of Springsteen in this regard- his finger is on the pulse of working-class America.
American Aquarium's trajectory is one worth noticing because these most recent albums have both been so stellar from top to bottom in a way that promises such a bright future. A few years ago BJ got sober, and it has really shown through the clear-headed reflections he has delivered on these albums. Songs like "Six Years Come September" and "How Wicked I Was" are incredibly melancholy but also profound in the way that they come across as confessions, with brutal honesty, that can’t help but bring you to ponder your own sins if you really immerse yourself in their atmospheres. The pacing of this album is somehow never dull or monotonous though, because interspersed between these intense reflections are some fantastic upbeat stories centered on commitment and the yearning of the human spirit, notably shown in "Before the Dogwood Blooms", "The Luckier You Get", and "The Long Haul".
If you love thoughtful American roots music, there is absolutely no doubt that this album is for you. It's pleasant to listen to but much deeper than most music that is ever on the country charts. Give it a listen and see if you are as excited for their future as I am.
Rating: 92/100
This is a band whose upward trajectory is one unlike any I've seen in a long time. Singer and songwriter BJ Barham has long shown extraordinary potential as an honest craftsman of rootsy country-rock, but not until 2018's Things Change did this band deliver an almost seamlessly excellent album top-to-bottom. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of other great bright spots on past albums; Wolves and Burn, Flicker, Die are what really pulled me in years ago, with wonderfully honest storytelling and reflections on the white-knuckle struggles of rural America. But with Things Change I really began to see the maturity of BJ's craft. It is an album full of empathy but also urgency, and contains very thought-provoking reflections on hard work and the American dream.
The more and more I listen to Lamentations, their new release, the more I could see it as almost a linear continuation of Things Change. In the meantime, BJ has had his first child, and with his new life experiences and ruminations he has delivered somehow an even more mature batch of songs. They are intensely reflective and at times stern, but always nuanced. There are no brow-beating sermons on this album. Though some songs like "Me and Mine" and "A Better South" have tinges of political commentary, it is very thoughtful without feeling partisan or preachy. Empathy is the name of the game. BJ's writing shows maturity in the fact that he doesn't go around pointing fingers but rather asks what he can do better and pleads that we remember those who are marginalized and cast aside in this convoluted political system of ours. He is sympathetic to the cause of the working man in middle America who is always putting his shoulder to the plow but is seemingly stuck in a dead-end town bereft of 21st century money-making opportunities. His vision is one delivered with a maturity reminiscent of Springsteen in this regard- his finger is on the pulse of working-class America.
American Aquarium's trajectory is one worth noticing because these most recent albums have both been so stellar from top to bottom in a way that promises such a bright future. A few years ago BJ got sober, and it has really shown through the clear-headed reflections he has delivered on these albums. Songs like "Six Years Come September" and "How Wicked I Was" are incredibly melancholy but also profound in the way that they come across as confessions, with brutal honesty, that can’t help but bring you to ponder your own sins if you really immerse yourself in their atmospheres. The pacing of this album is somehow never dull or monotonous though, because interspersed between these intense reflections are some fantastic upbeat stories centered on commitment and the yearning of the human spirit, notably shown in "Before the Dogwood Blooms", "The Luckier You Get", and "The Long Haul".
If you love thoughtful American roots music, there is absolutely no doubt that this album is for you. It's pleasant to listen to but much deeper than most music that is ever on the country charts. Give it a listen and see if you are as excited for their future as I am.
Rating: 92/100
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