American Aquarium (from the album The Fear of Standing Still

American Aquarium (from the album The Fear of Standing Still

American Aquarium (from the album The Fear of Standing Still available on Losing Side Records/Thirty Tigers) (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen close to the words of BJ Barham and you’ll learn more about Barham and his own family then you may know about your own. Leading the North Carolina-based American Aquarium, (something he’s done for close to 20 years), BJ Barham is an open book of honesty. On their latest, The Fear of Standing Still, he’s again dropping history and family stories, personal insight and life lessons, as their tenth album unfolds to give a good look into his life and life in general, all done so with solid ballads and big Rock.
American Aquarium open with a ripper when they recall NFL great Rosey Grier who once sang “It’s Alright to Cry” (take a second to dig into that) and Barham and the boys agree, singing ‘it’s okay to be a crier’ in “Crier”. They deliver the story with a mighty Rock-charge. One thing Barham does oh-so well with his writing is create a solid visuals, doing so like a champion on the laid-back groover “Cherokee Purples”. It’s a cut about memories where he tells a tale about youth and home, referencing back-yard gardens, porches and ‘Mountain Dew or Big-League Chew’. This is a song about quick memories that you hold onto forever.
There’s big power chords in “The Getting Home”, “Southern Roots” is a sad ballad where Katie Pruitt adds beautiful and hushed ambient backing vocals, and the album closes with a huge, Garage Rock and Punky-ripper in “Head Down, Feet Moving” a cut worthy of the guitar solo alone.
Barham and band will make you weep, make you remember, and make you head-bang via grooving love-songs and cow-punk blasters. Those cuts come via a smoking band that can hang back providing the perfect music bed or step out and charge with a big score for Barham’s solid and visuals of not only story-telling, but life-telling.  (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of American Aquarium from AMAZON
Please go to the American Aquarium website for more purchase and artist information