American Aquarium’s New Single “Wildfire” Teaches Us To Cleanse, Move Forward And Grow Back Stronger

Listen to “Wildfire” HERE

Latest Single Off Forthcoming Career-Best Album Chicamacomico, Out June 10 via Losing Side Records/Thirty Tigers + Produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff)

Today, American Aquarium delivers “Wildfire,” the wistful, emphatically personal new single off their upcoming studio album, Chicamacomico out June 10 via Thirty Tigers. The project as a whole is a uniquely beautiful encapsulation of debilitating loss and isolation in its many forms, whether it be somewhat figurative, one losing their way in the world, or literal, as in the loss of a loved one–the latter reflecting frontman BJ Barham’s recent experience with the death of his mother and grandmother. “Wildfire,” the second single off the project, abounds with the kind of self-assured emotional resonance that songwriters and artists often spend a lifetime chasing down. For Barham, that kind of vulnerability seamlessly peels away like a second layer of skin he has been eagerly waiting to shed. “Wildfire” is at once crushing and delightfully revitalizing. 

Every filament of personal loss and longing spreads rapidly throughout the song, breathing an immediacy into its very first moments of clattering, saturated drum machine, which is accompanied by a budding synthesizer drawing you in with each passing measure. As soon as Barham’s warm, spirited vocals slip in, the lived-in nature of his lyricism and melodic phrasing take the song’s sincerity to even greater heights. All at once, the listener exists within the beautifully cleansing destruction that is “Wildfire,” imploring us all to grow back stronger from the experiences and life events that once tore us apart. 

Listen to “Wildfire” HERE

On the making of “Wildfire” Barham says: “Wildfire is a song about someone coming along and simultaneously fulfilling and destroying your life. The destructive kind of love that burns fast and bright and serves as a lesson for future relationships. The kind of love that teaches you the definitions of unfathomable joy and catastrophic collapse at the same time. These are the relationships that you never want to end but know they must. The kind of love that, for better or worse, leaves its mark on you forever. We have all had these moments. We have all lost these moments. I wanted to capture the experience in a song, and I’ve always loved the imagery of fire. This cleansing destruction that teaches us to grow back stronger.”

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. 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 never burned more brightly. 

Last 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 complete tour routing, please visit HERE and see below.

Chicamacomico will be released on cd, vinyl, and all digital platforms. Magnolia Record Club will offer an exclusive lavender marble-colored vinyl variant available for pre-order now. For more information, please visit HERE.

Pre-Order Chicamacomicoo HERE

Listen to Wildfire 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

CONNECT WITH AMERICAN AQUARIUM:

AMERICANAQUARIUM.COM | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE