Artist: BJ Barham
Album: Rockingham
Bitrate: 228kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: At The Helm Records
Genre: Rock
Size: 56.14 megs
PlayTime: 0h 32min 48sec total
Rip Date: 2016-09-10
Store Date: 2016-07-29
Track List:
--------
01. American Tobacco Company 2:59
02. Rockingham 2:34
03. Madeline 4:17
04. Unfortunate Kind 4:02
05. O' Lover 3:57
06. Road To Nowhere 4:16
07. Reidsville 4:56
08. Water In The Well 5:47
Release Notes:
--------
Sometimes it doesnÆt matter what a song or album leaves you with as long as it
leaves you with something. It makes an impression on your heart or your mind in
a manner that compels you to recalibrate your perspective by conveying a
viewpoint that you otherwise may not be aware of or receptive to, or by evoking
some emotion you havenÆt felt in a while. Sometimes what you get out of music
might not be the realization or emotion that the artist intended to communicate.
Sometimes it is something completely different. A sign of good songwriting is
when the same song means different things to different people.
Rockinghamùthe first solo album from American AquariumÆs frontman and songwriter
B.J. Barhamùwas an album that made me come to a pretty keen realization, yet it
probably was not the one Barnham set out to impart. Some have been talking about
how the new Cody Jinks record IÆm Not The Devil is almost a little too weighty.
Well if thatÆs the case, you may not have the emotional fortitude to make it
through even half of Rockingham. ItÆs hard to name another album that works in
such dour emotions, or envision one being released in the near future. This
album makes John Moreland sound like Sonny and Cher.
Rockingham is a travelogue though certain Southern towns in various states of
disrepair and dejection in the aftermath of the implosion of the agrarian and
industrial American economy. No punches are pulled, and names are named in
regards to the particular towns Barham chooses to highlight, or more accurately,
bemoan at the state of affairs that have transpired there. Broken people and
broken homes are sung about with cutting, merciless honesty, with the worst
details not just uncensored, but emphasized. Rockingham is an ode to desperate
people out of money, out of work, and out of options, eaten up with the wanton
emotions of not being able to provide for themselves and their families, while
the illusion of small-town simplicity is shattered by the gavel of broken
dreams.
They say that people fear running out of money even more than the fear of death.
This album encapsulates that axiom with anecdotal accounts of the downtrodden
one after another. There were fears back in the 90Æs of heavy metal bands
stimulating teenagers to commit suicide. Well if youÆre pondering harakiri,
perhaps you should pass on this one, especially the final heartbreaking song
ôWater in the Wellö which is articulated with a gun pointed at the head. There
are some slightly bright spots, or perhaps less depressing spots, like the song
ôMadelineö that finds a father articulating wisdom to a daughter. But even then
itÆs about the ever-present ills waiting to greet you in life.
This type of stark, pulsating depression is a great way to suck in listeners who
like to be thrust into dark moods to feel alive. Musical masochism if you will,
with a side of commiseration. The question is valid though if Rockingham is a
little bit too brutal to the point where the pain for pleasure just turns into
just downright pain. Either way, one particular song ôOÆ Loverö is worth
consideration right beside all those American Aquarium songs as one of the best,
taking notes from the great storytelling songwriters of Texas like early Robert
Earl Keen and applying it to the theme of BarhamÆs effort. B.J. has never been a
great singer, but he knows how to write songs where that doesnÆt really matter.
á
ôYou canÆt call yourself a farmer just because you plant a seed
You must bargain with the dirt, your hands must blister they must bleed
Only then will you find beauty not in the bloom, but in the weeds
OÆ lover love is not the only thing from you I need.ö
One of the most important points that Rockingham makes is that these destitute
souls have no alternatives because their home is the only home they know. ThatÆs
the hardest part to drive home to folks that hear about depressed communities
and wonder why folks donÆt just move where there is more opportunity. For some,
theyÆve never left the county, or theyÆre trying to hold on to a family farm
thatÆs been in their last name for hundreds of years. This great gulf between
those that move and those who stay is an often overlooked, but a critically
important demarcation with the critically destitute pushed to one side.
Rockingham feels like a side project in the sense that for the most part, the
songs are pretty stripped down and the production is simple. ItÆs not an
acoustic album except for a couple of songs, but with the short track list and
sedated nature, you get the sense that Barham didnÆt want to make too much
racket with this record and ultimately distract from American Aquarium. ItÆs not
a solo project amidst the dissolving of a band, but a side project while the
band is still at full strength, and it makes sense for Barhman who continues to
not only be outspoken when it comes to little issues that may arise in the music
scene, whether it be in the songwriting circles he runs in, or the honorary
membership he carries with Texas country, but is also continuing to gain wide
respect as a songwriter. This album, if nothing else, helps cement BarhamÆs name
beyond American Aquarium.
But what I took from Rockingham was not just an anger at the political and
economic injustices that have brought so many of these rural Southern
communities to the breaking point, or severe empathy for the people who suffer
their lives away in these certain towns. Rockingham, by being so stark and
unrelenting had almost the opposite effect on me, where it made me grateful for
the meager opportunities that IÆve had, and the sense of stability we all strive
for. It made me realize that so much of happiness is simply making up your mind.
Parallel to the people portrayed in Rockingham are people who are still happy,
even though they have too little of everything they need. They figure it out.
They scrape by, and they donÆt complain or blame others for their problems.
ThereÆs a Rockingham in all of us, just as thereÆs a place of happiness. Part of
it has to do with where youÆre born and your upbringing, but part of it has to
do with how much you decide to control your own destiny and mindset. There is no
doubt to the authenticity of the people, places, and stories of Rockingham. All
you have to do is drive across the country, and you will see whatÆs happening to
the forgotten communities of America. But for me, this record was like a mirror
reflecting back judgement for every time first world problems frazzle your
nerves while so many other folks struggle not just with their circumstances, but
their perspective on them. So many move through life day to day, week to week,
and simply hope parish on this mortal coil from natural causes, as opposed to
the effort of their own hands. Because thatÆs the deck that life has dealt them,
or so they believe.