A.A. Bondy Will Make You Believers [Show Preview]

Ted Newsome

A.A. Bondy and Gold Leaves
Sunday, November 13
The Parish (214 East Sixth Street)
$15, doors @8pm
[info] | [tickets]

A.A. Bondy, a.k.a. Auguste Arthur (his given name) a.k.a. Scott (his preferred name) Bondy, has had a busy past four years. After his role as lead singer of Verbena, a popular 1990s Alabama rock band, Bondy laid low until releasing his own more folk oriented album (including harmonica!) in 2007 to critical acclaim and hasn't looked back since.

His latest release, Believers, takes a more complicated tack from the previous two full-length releases. In an interview with Aquarium Drunkard, Bondy discusses how the name of the album came to be and how it reflects the lyrics of songs on it:
"I liked it because it sounded like a series of stories. It also sounded like a question at the same time. [...] It’s some kind of stream of consciousness thing and trying to be in control of that in some kind of way... I was just trying to impart this whole thing where you can feel a stack of given emotions at any time. Where before, the songs would be all very simplistic and pointed in one, almost naive, direction. Like, ‘this is what sadness is like,’ or ‘this is what patriotism is’ or some shit like that. But I realized after playing all those songs, that rarely does one emotion overtake everything."

As the lyrics moved in a new direction, so did some of the instrumentation for the album. Gone are the simple acoustic guitar chords backing Bondy's gruff voice on his first to records, American Hearts and When the Devil's Loose. Instead, impressive tracks like "Skull & Bones" (which although still relatively bare) contain an undeniable movement through consistent electric guitar rhythm picking and an other-worldly white noise panning between the right and left speakers. Similarly compelling is the complexity found in "The Heart is Willing," the opening track of the album. Even the haunting image on the record cover, where light orbs hover over a lone figure on the street, reflects the unsettled feeling. This album makes for a perfect cool fall day listening session, enveloping you with its emotion and warmth.

On tour for the entire months of November and December, A.A. Bondy stops by The Parish on Sunday night with support from Gold Leaves. A Seattle based group led by Grant Olsen, Gold Leaves bring more upbeat tunes to the lineup, but with just as much flair and evenly matched with a perfect fall weather tone.

A.A. Bondy: [tumblr]

Gold Leaves: [facebook]