New Music From A.A. Bondy
Between a new album in September and his ongoing tour, A.A. Bondy is set to impress
Country and folk are fickle monikers. How does one define and differentiate the two from each other? Country has that great southern beat but often finds itself applied to songs about tractors and worn cowboy boots. Folk is known for great balladry but carries the burden of being too sad or political to capture a mass audience. Can one artist take the best of both genres and make something that everyone will like?
Able to capture the sorrow of country with the traditionalism of folk, singer/songwriter A.A. Bondy brings the best of both genres to the forefront of his work. Bondy, also known as Scott Bondy, originally started his musical career in the band Verbena. After the group disbanded in 2003 Bondy started to explore a solo career outside of that Nirvana-esque genre Verbena fought to bring back. Forget the raucous rock image Bondy once had in Verbena. His debut album American Hearts is raw indie-folk coupled with imaginative lyrics, with slow, mournful guitar riffs and harmonicas aplenty. Imagine Bob Dylan without the nasally voice mixed with Tom Waits without the general ambiance of creepy. American Hearts has that deep-seated heartbreak and darkness that you find in 5 a.m. bars that reek of whiskey and questionable characters. From songs about whiskey, cocaine, and the desire to end it all, the album was a drastic change from Bondy’s ne’re-do-well attitude to songwriting in Verbena.
Where American Hearts represented the more adult Bondy, his upcoming release When the Devil’s Loose goes deeper into his newfound style. The album’s single “When the Devil’s Loose” sounds somewhat upbeat for Bondy but when you sit down and actually listen to it, the track has the same darkness that inhabits his previous work. With lines like “Your sadness is quite lovely, but it’s the sadness of a slave,” and Bondy’s haunting guitar work, his new album is bound to continue the bluesy threads that American Hearts started.
When the Devil’s Loose comes out September 1st on Fat Possum records. In the meantime catch A.A. Bondy in a city near you:
June 18 - Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
June 19 - Milwaukee, WI - Club Garibaldi
June 20 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
June 22 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive
June 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
June 25 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord
June 26 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door
June 27 - San Diego, Ca - The Casbah (early show)
June 29 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts
Posted by Amy Dittmeier on Jun 17, 2009 @ 12:00 am