American Aquarium announce their new studio album Chicamacomico out June 10 via Thirty Tigers – a heart-wrenching reflection on loss that finds frontman BJ Barham scaling new expressive heights, resulting in the band’s most elemental and emotionally resonant work to date. Named after a former life-saving station built in 1874 on the Outer Banks of the band’s native North Carolina, and produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff, Hurray for the Riff Raff) at Sonic Ranch, the ten songs on Chicamacomico are shot through with a sense of loss: of life (Barham recently lost his mother and grandmother), of a child, a spouse, or one’s way in the world.
In the end, Chicamacomico arrives at salvation in the form of “All I Needed,” the album’s final track and galvanizing first single. Driven by an undeniable beat, warm pedal steel, soaring melody, and Barhman’s lived-in lyrics, the track revels in the power of music as the ultimate salve.
Though it is perhaps his most personal album to date, Chicamacomico is also the first to feature co-writes: with Grammy-winner Lori McKenna, Grammy-nominee Hayes Carll and others. And with backing from longtime American Aquarium bandmates Zack Brown (piano), Bill Corbin (bass), Colin DiMeo (guitar), Ryan Johson (guitar), Kevin McClain (drums) and Whit Wright (pedal steel), Barham’s stories have neve burned more brightly.
On the making of Chicamacomico Barham says: “In my sixteen-year career, I have never been prouder of a set of songs, lyrically or stylistically. They have weight, but they aren’t weighed down. It’s a sad record, that makes you feel good. It’s a culmination of nearly two decades of work. Chicamacomico sounds like nothing we’ve ever done yet it sits comfortably amongst the rest of our catalog.”
Earlier this month, American Aquarium announced a coast-to-coast tour, including dates in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and their first-ever headlining show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium set for the week after Chicamacomico is released. For full tour routing, please visit HERE and see below.
Chicamacomico follow’s American Aquarium’s 2020 release Lamentations, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart, and earned the band their best reviews to date. No Depression called the album “an unforgettable masterpiece,” Glide tipped it as the band’s “most brilliant work to date,” and NPR hailed its “left of center analysis that strives for maximum empathy.” Americana Highways said simply: “meet your favorite album of 2020.”
Chicamacomico will be released on cd, vinyl, and all digital platforms. Magnolia Record Club will offer an exclusive lavender marble-colored vinyl variant which is available for pre-order now. For more information, please visit HERE.
Pre-Order Chicamacomicoo HERE
AMERICAN AQUARIUM TOUR:
June 17 – Nashville, TN – The Ryman Auditorium
June 18 – Atlanta, GA – The Buckhead Theater+
June 19 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn+
June 21 – Ponte Vedra, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall+
June 22 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House+
June 23 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel+
June 24 – Durham, NC – That Music Festival
June 25 – Greensboro, NC – Blind Tiger#
June 26 – Washington D.C. – 9:30 Club#
June 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts#
June 28 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Made#
June 30 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair#
July 1 – Richmond, VA – The National#
July 2 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom#
July 16 – Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky
July 28 & 29 – Floyd, VA – Floydfest
July 30 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
July 31 – Chattanooga, TN – The Signal
Aug 2 – Jackson, MS – Duling Hall
August 4 – Houston, TX – Heights Theatre
August 5 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
August 6 – Hutto, TX – KOKE Fest
August 7 – Lubbock, TX – Cactus Theatre
August 9 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
August 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
August 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
August 12 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
August 13 – Bend OR, The Domino Room
August 14 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
August 15 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
August 16 – Boise, ID – The Olympic
August 17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell
August 18 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
August 19 – Wichita, KS – The Wave
August 21 – Little Rock, AR – The Rev Room
September 15 – Kansas City, MO – Knuckleheads
September 18 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
September 20 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
September 21 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
September 22 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fine Line
September 23 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
September 24 – Evanston, IL – Space
September 25 – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag
September 27 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
September 28 – Columbus, OH – Bluestone
September 29 – Indianapolis, IN – The Hi Fi Annex
September 30 – Newport, KY – Southgate House
+Adeem The Artist opening
# Caroline Spence opening
Chicamacomico tracklist
1. Chicamacomico
2. Little Things
3. Just Close Enough
4. The First Year
5. Built To Last
6. Wildfire
7. The Things We Lost Along The Way
8. Waking Up The Echoes
9. The Hardest Thing
10. All I Needed
