Of N.C. band American Aquarium — due this evening at the Tin Roof in West Ashley — Charlotte-based freelancer Bryan Reed sez:
“As the title of its most recent album, The Bible and The Bottle, might indicate, American Aquarium trades mostly in country tropes both tried and true. Which, for a Raleigh band, is hardly surprise. North Carolina’s capital is, after all, the birthplace of alt-country legends Two Dollar Pistols and Whiskeytown. But American Aquarium is far from a mere tribute to hometown heroes. Frontman B.J. Barham’s whiskey-scorched voice, pained and scratchy, turns a piano-pounding roadhouse romp like ‘Clark Avenue’ into a fully-convincing picture of a world where women are ‘sexy as sin’ and the only cure is a good stiff drink. ‘When I’m sober, I pray to Jesus,’ sings Barham. ‘When I’m drunk, that’s when I talk to God.’ At the same time, though, a steel-guitar shuffle like ‘Down Under’ is an equally compelling depiction of brokenhearted discontent run through a versatile band with an equally versatile voice behind the wheel.”
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