For nearly two decades, American Aquarium have pushed toward that rare formof rock-and-roll that’s revelatory in every sense. “For us the sweet spot is whenyou’ve got a rock band that makes you scream along to every word, and it’s notuntil you’re comingdown at three a.m. that you realize those words are sayingsomething real about your life,” says frontman BJ Barham. “That’s what made usfall in love with music in the first place, and that’s the goal in everything we do.”On their new album The Fear ofStanding Still, the North Carolina-bred bandembody that dynamic with more intensity than ever before, endlessly matchingtheir gritty breed of country-rock with Barham’s bravest and most incisive songwriting to date. As he reflects on matters both personal and sociocultural—e.g., the complexity of Southern identity, the intersection of generational traumaand the dismantling of reproductive rights—American Aquarium instill everymoment of The Fear of Standing Still with equal parts unbridled spirit andilluminating empathy.