Wolves

American Aquarium singer/songwriter BJ Barham harbors a deep-seated love for struggling blue-collar characters, the kind who populate Willy Vlautin novels or songs by a younger Bruce Springsteen. He shows us broken families, unfulfilled dreams, and places inside of us where addictions can fester. And the band’s brand of alt-country simply chugs and twangs, haunts, and breaks. The lifting “Family Problems” tells of a sinking alcoholic about to drown. “Wichita Falls” captures small-town futility. “Man I’m Supposed to Be” is all about the internal search. The songs trade on personal regrets, yet there’s always a thread of hope. Beautiful stuff.

At one end of American Aquarium's music is the beckoning call of the road, the neon excitement of nightclubs and bars, the urgency of rock 'n' roll, a life unbound and free.