American Aquarium Announces New Album “The Fear of Standing Still”

For nearly 20 years now, American Aquarium and frontman BJ Barham have been a mostly rock band graciously accepted into Americana, Texas/Red Dirt, and independent country due to the quality of the songs, and the chest-pounding power of their live performances. That’s why the announcement of a new album comes as welcome news from the Raleigh, North Carolina-based band.
The Fear of Standing Still out July 26th will be the second album the group has recorded with producer Shooter Jennings after the band’s 2020 album Lamentations. American Aquarium also released the more understated and acoustic Chicamacomico that received high acclaim. But the new one recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles promises to have a bit more grit and snarl, without shorting on the songwriting.
“For us the sweet spot is when you’ve got a rock band that makes you scream along to every word, and it’s not until you’re coming down at three a.m. that you realize those words are saying something real about your life,” says BJ Barham. “That’s what made us fall in love with music in the first place, and that’s the goal in everything we do.”
You hear this come to life in the lead single from the album called “Crier,” which Saving Country Music singled out as a “killer” song when seeing American Aquarium play live earlier this year. Co-written by Stephen Wilson Jr., it shows the kind of incisive insight Barham brings to his songs.
“I wanted to send the message that it’s not natural to bottle everything up inside, because all of us are meant to feel,” Barham says, “It’ll make them want to dance and jump around, and then when they put the headphones on and listen a little closer to the lyrics, that’s when they’ll start to understand what we’re talking about.”

Joined by guitarist Shane Boeker, pedal-steel guitarist Neil Jones, keyboardist Rhett Huffman, drummer Ryan Van Fleet, and bassist Alden Hedges, you can expect The Fear of Standing Still to be more of a rock affair. But they always deliver a few country moments and sounds in there as well. The song is what dictates the sound. And if you know BJ Barham, you also know he’s not one to keep opinions to himself.
Barham tackles the complexity of the Southern identity on the song “Southern Roots” co-written with Katie Pruitt about being proud from the South, but wanting to be able to remain proud for what it stands for, and where it’s headed. He also tackles the complex and timely issue of abortion in the song “Babies Having Babies.”
But there will also be more sentimental moments in songs like “Cherokee Purples” that Barham was inspired to write while making a tomato sandwich, and “The Curse of Growing Old” inspired after a talk with his 92-year-old grandmother.
“All I really want to do is put words to the emotions that most people have a difficult time expressing on their own,” Barham says. “No matter what that emotion is, when you put it into a song and then get to those moments when a whole bunch of people are singing that song all together, it makes you see that you’re part of something bigger than you ever realized. That’s when you can really affect people’s lives, and to me this record is another stepping stone to making that a reality.”
The Fear of Standing Still is now available for pre-save and pre-order.
TRACK LIST:
1. Crier
2. Messy As A Magnolia
3. Cherokee Purples
4. The Getting Home
5. Southern Roots (feat. Katie Pruitt)
6. The Curse of Growing Old
7. The Fear of Standing Still
8. Piece By Piece
9. Babies Having Babies
10. Head Down, Feet Moving
May 1, 2024 @ 9:35 am
Excited for this. I will say I’m a huge fan of these guys now and have enjoyed several of their albums but they got on my radar because of the 90s country songs covers album. I guess that’s why they do things like that
May 1, 2024 @ 9:54 am
Can’t wait,one of the best bands around just now.
Seen them live here in Scotland a couple of times and what a rock n roll show they put on.
May 1, 2024 @ 10:30 am
Well that made my morning. Is the cover a painting? I can’t tell on my phone.
May 1, 2024 @ 10:56 am
Yes, it’s an oil painting called “ODE” by Whitney Gardner.
May 1, 2024 @ 1:28 pm
Good to know. Thanks!
May 1, 2024 @ 11:23 am
My favorite band period…Great songwriting with quite a few “sucker punches to the gut” as B.J. likes to say. Live show is just amazing. If they are coming to your area grab some tickets and go. You won’t be disappointed. Fortunately for us I think B.J. is content with the band staying in the lane they are now playing smaller venues and releasing music on his own label which makes this band extremely accessible and relatable.
May 1, 2024 @ 11:35 am
Seen them live several times and it’s a blast everytime..
#humblebrag, going to see them open for Turnpike at Red Rocks next week (honestly, i’m much more excited to see AA and The Red Clay Strays than i am Turnpike)
May 1, 2024 @ 11:54 am
Same! Can’t wait. And honestly a little risky for Turnpike to put those two on before them…
May 2, 2024 @ 9:26 pm
I’ll be there, too. Both nights, with Sierra Hull and Wyatt Flores opening on night two. TT will be just fine — they carried the headline spot no problem in OKC withe CWG and Isbell opening both nights there.
May 3, 2024 @ 12:53 pm
oh nice – i’m sure they’ll be fine, it’s my first time seeing them live so nothing to compare it to. I was basing it on that on myself not having gotten into their new album as much as previous efforts and expecting the setlist to be heavy with the new stuff…. although, live is a different beast so maybe this will jumpstart my interest in A Cat In The Rain.
I’m always down to see AA live, and Ive been dying to see The Red Clay Strays live for a bit now
May 1, 2024 @ 12:42 pm
Headed to Red Rocks next week to see them wtih Turnpike and Red Clay Strays. Will be the 9th time seeing them since 2019. Every show has been killer whether at a small club here in Milwaukee or in Tampa or in the Ampitheater in Key West. Big stage or small, always a great time. BJ is one of the nicest and most approachable person I have met. Active and engaged on social media as well. Looking forward to this release.
May 2, 2024 @ 7:25 am
For my birthday (May 8th) I bought tickets to Red Rocks because TT and AA are both my two favorite bands. I like the Red Clay Strays so either way I was a winner. Never been to Colorado and never seen Turnpike but have seen AA twice and will see them anytime they come to Richmond.
May 1, 2024 @ 2:57 pm
One of, if.not the best live bands in this wheelhouse to see. If you ever get a chance do a Roadtrip to Raleigh for them in February. They bring it to another level then.
May 1, 2024 @ 3:33 pm
Roadtrip to Raleigh is definitely a bucket list item for me
May 1, 2024 @ 3:22 pm
I read the title of the album and immediately thought “this doesn’t sound country”. Then Trig himself says they aren’t country.
Im not complaining, not yet. But I might complain when songs from this album show up on the playlist instead of country music.
May 1, 2024 @ 4:12 pm
As I tried to explain in the article, American Aquarium has been in and around the country scene for many years. If you listen to their last album, you will hear country songs and country instrumentation. There is a full-time steel guitar in the band. “Crier” is clearly a hard rock song, and I probably wouldn’t put it on the Top 25 Playlist for that reason. But I might put another song from the album on there, we’ll see. A lot of American Aquarium fans read Saving Country Music. They regularly play festivals with country acts on the bill. Have not heard the new album in full yet so I’ll reserve judgement. But this is definitely news around these parts.
May 1, 2024 @ 4:57 pm
Trig,
I’m no purist or traditionalist. So bluff called, I don’t really care if you put artists in your playlists who aren’t “country enough”.
I’m just sick of the singer-songwritery dudes who sound like they’d rather be reading Satre in a classroom then making music.
Which, I might add, is about as antithetical to country as you can get.
May 2, 2024 @ 9:26 am
Just want to throw it out there that BJ is a hell of a songwriter and has only grown since becoming a dad. If this is your first foray with AA there’s deeper and more country cuts of theirs they do that are worth checking out.
May 3, 2024 @ 3:13 am
That’s not BJ at all, though he likely is smart enough to know it’s Sartre and not Satre.
May 2, 2024 @ 6:44 am
According to Josh Crutchmer’s “Red Dirt” book (which is excellent btw), it was Ragweed that got AA into the scene in the 00’s. They crossed paths touring and the bands became close with AA opening often for CCR in Texas and Oklahoma and AA would return the favor and bring CCR out east for shows. I always wondered why Texas Country and Red Dirt radio plays a band from North Carolina in heavy rotation and the book answered that question. Even though they do not have many trademarks of the sound of those scenes, they were welcomed with open arms in TX and OK being endorsed by Cody.
May 2, 2024 @ 7:08 am
The real nexus here was the booking agency Red 11, which booked a lot of Texas/Red Dirt bands, but then picked up on American Aquarium. I once attended a Red 11 SXSW showcase at the White Horse in Austin that featured Jason Eady, The Crooks (RIP), American Aquarium, and the Turnpike Troubadours all on the same bill. Red 11 has now been folded into WME, but this is the reason you see American Aquarium playing virtually all the same events as a lot of the Texas/Red Dirt guys. I’ve probably seen American Aquarium just as much if not more than any other band in the last 10 years.
May 2, 2024 @ 9:38 am
Thanks for clarifying Trigger. I’ve only seen them live once but it was clear to me instantly that BJ is right up there with Harmeyer as a premier front man. I’m sure you need someone like Red 11/WME to open a door for you to get into that scene. I feel like Joe Stamm Band would kill it in Texas and I see they are getting some gigs down there. I’ve emailed Shane at the Ranch a couple times begging him to play JSB. As if I have any magic power to make that happen…… Maybe Shane would listen to you???
May 2, 2024 @ 9:24 am
I always thought AA was a Texas Red Dirt band until it was mentioned here they were from NC on a later album review. Always considered them part of that scene.
May 1, 2024 @ 4:00 pm
What the hell is a tomato sandwich? Just a ‘T’ with no BL? That’s madness.
May 1, 2024 @ 6:18 pm
What?! Where are you from? I grew up on tomato sandwiches. Beefsteak tomatoes right from my grandmother’s garden, salt and pepper, and mayo (later in life I added a slice of cheese, but that my friend is madness). I eat them to this day when tomatoes are in season.
I am excited for this album.
May 2, 2024 @ 3:54 am
You’ll definitely dig Cherokee Purple, haha!
He played it at a solo acoustic show, last time I saw him – can’t wait to hear it with the full band (…and then see it with the full band, when he’s back over!)
May 2, 2024 @ 3:55 am
Never heard of them. I’ve lived in MN, FL, CO, and recently NC. I’ve had fried green tomato sandwiches and BLTs, but never seen a straight tomato sandwich.
May 2, 2024 @ 8:19 am
Hop, try a basil/mayo, or just a few little pieces of fresh basil on your tomato sandwich, next time.
May 1, 2024 @ 4:01 pm
I’ll admit I’ve missed this group until now. I don’t know if we’re living in the “Age of Aquariums” (or “Aquaria,”?) but I just ordered their “Lamentations” CD off of eb. Hopefully, it will take me to another dimension. And not sleeping wih the fishes.
May 2, 2024 @ 5:56 am
Worth noting – if you buy the CDs from their online store directly, they’re always 5 bucks. Ain’t much of a better deal than that.
May 1, 2024 @ 4:35 pm
Everyone I respect raves about them so I admit to being wrong with what I’m about to say
But I’ve never been more put off by one line in one song than I was “you fuck like a woman but love like a little girl”
I know BJ has gotten sober and talks a lot about that. I admire him greatly for it and wish him all the success. I’m just so weirded out by that line.
May 2, 2024 @ 2:34 am
Same here…I found there their earlier stuff lyrically crass and never got into them. Seen them twice though opening for others probably a decade ago.
May 2, 2024 @ 4:03 am
I do think it’s worth noting that that’s very much not a “Sober BJ” line.
Pretty sure the band’s completely changed lineups at least three times since Drunk 24 Year Old BJ wrote that song, haha!
I’d at least give Lamentations a listen – they’re quite literally a different band at this point.
May 2, 2024 @ 5:39 am
oh yeh! lyrically BJ has matured a LOT. One of my favourite things about them is that as BJ has gotten older his lyrics reflect that. Completely different than the early days, and in a good way.
May 2, 2024 @ 9:10 am
@Michael–There was a whole thing here on the creepiness of (some of) Conway Twitty several weeks back, but that line takes creepiness to a new dimension. I’m willing to attribute it to an attempt at shock-jock humor and give it a pass.
May 2, 2024 @ 9:39 am
Same. Maybe it’s supposed to be a play on that Bob Dylan song “Just Like a Woman” that has a similar line (“…but she breaks just like a little girl”)?
Not crazy about that line either (I’m a Dylan fan otherwise) but given that it was a different time and a lot of Dylan’s lines don’t make a ton of literal straightforward sense, I guess it’s gotten a pass. Just like lots of other old songs from various genres that call females “little girl,” “child,” “schoolgirl” etc. Hasn’t aged well.
For what it’s worth I generally like American Aquarium and assume the line was meant to be insulting (calling someone childish, basically) but not as creepy as it can come off.
May 2, 2024 @ 10:49 am
thats how i always interpreted the line, as calling them an emotionally immature & childish person (that was written by an immature person, sure)
the dylan reference had been pointed out to me as well and seemed also likely.
May 1, 2024 @ 5:32 pm
I suspect American Aquarium gets Saving Country Music mention because it’s worthwhile acknowledging quality wherever you find it. On record or in person, this is music worth your time and attention. I have been waiting so impatiently for this album, and “Crier” suggestions the wait will have been well worth it. American Aquarium and Turnpike Troubadours might just be the best live show ever – I would love to be at Red Rocks, but I’ll be listening to this album soon.
May 1, 2024 @ 6:10 pm
One of the best live bands you will see so if you get a chance go see them. BJ will stay and talk with any concert goer who wants to chat with him. He played a couple of the songs off this new record the last time I saw him in Asheville late last year. He said it was going to be a more rock n roll album. They may be my favorite live band now and I’m a huge Springsteen fan! Go see them if they are close to your town.
He gets his fans to prepay for his new records to pay for recording them and I’ve gladly done that the last 2 records. He’s the real deal!
May 2, 2024 @ 9:28 am
Agreed, AA is good on album but the amount of people I’ve turned into fans by taking them to live shows where they bring it is just uncanny. BJ is such a good dude and living somewhat close to him I’ve talked to him several times and always thankful for people listening to his music.
May 11, 2024 @ 10:31 am
Even did it at Red Rocks, he was hanging out next to the stage after the set.
Seen em several times around the country and have been going to RTR for the past few years and will gladly support the band any way I can.
May 1, 2024 @ 7:57 pm
Pre-ordered and also ordered VIP experience for Cleveland, OH show.
May 1, 2024 @ 8:41 pm
Hope for more with the rest of the album. This song doesn’t do it for me
May 2, 2024 @ 5:40 am
I literally cannot wait for this album. AA have become one of my all time favourite bands. BJ’s lyrics are fantastic.
Unfortunately living in Canada I have yet to see them live.
May 2, 2024 @ 1:56 pm
They have won me over with their last couple of albums which have been excellent. Looking forward to this one.
May 2, 2024 @ 4:04 pm
I love these guys
BJ is a force of nature