American Aquarium is the epitome of what it means to be an independent act.
In less than 48 hours, the band reached their goal of pre-ordered albums (which you can still pre-order until November 1st) by fans to completely fund their upcoming record, Chicamacomico.
Frontman BJ Barham promised he’d debut the first song from the record if they could make that happen. A man of his word, he posted an acoustic version of the unreleased title track “Chicamacomico” on Instagram.
He noted that there’s a very personal story behind the heavy song, and that he intends to eventually tell the whole thing.
After listening to it a few times, I think to say that it’s heavy is quite an understatement.
It all but rips your heart clean out, and he touches on the hard and absolutely heartbreaking subject of what it’s like to go through a miscarriage from the man’s perspective:
“And I swear, I’m gonna lose my mind
If I have to hear about God’s plan
One more God damn time
Just staring at the sky
Begging for an excuse
I never knew hard till I took apart
That room that never got used”
If this is any indication of what’s to come, we’re in for another incredible album… though that shouldn’t be any sort of surprise when it comes to this band:
“‘Chicamacomico’. I told y’all that if you funded CHICAMACOMICO in less than 48 hours, I’d throw a new unreleased track out into the world.
Y’all held up your end of the bargain so here’s me holding up mine. This is the title track. It’s a heavy song.
I’ll have a much lengthier personal story about this song at a later date, but for now, here’s “Chicamacomico”. Thanks for listening.”
While it’s obviously very sad to hear that this came from a personal story and experience that no one should have to go through, the best artists know how to tell the hardest ones in a way that touches the depths of your soul… even when you may not have gone through the exact same thing.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until next summer to hear the entire record, but I have a feeling that it will damn sure be worth waiting for.
And if you’re still a little uncertain as to how to pronounce the title, this is a great resource… ya gotta say it with an accent:
