A.A. BONDY
''BELIEVERS''
SEPTEMBER 13 2011
40:50
1. The Heart Is Willing /3:59
2. Down In The Fire (Lost Sea) /4:35
3. Skull & Bones /3:12
4. 123 Dupuy Street /1:09
5. Surfer King /4:00
6. Hiway/Fevers /4:50
7. Drmz /3:26
8. The Twist /4:19
9. Rte. 28/Believers /6:59
10. Scenes From A Circus /4:21
All Tracks By Bondy
A.A. Bondy /Guitar, Organ, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Benjamin Lester /Drums, Pedal Steel, Piano
Russ Pollard /Drums
Macey Taylor /Bass, Organ
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Former Verbena vocalist A.A. Bondy summoned up a compelling late-night mood on his 2009 album When the Devil's Loose, and for 2011's Believers, Bondy's music has crept further into the darkest hours of the early morning, conjuring up a sound that lurks somewhere between consciousness and a dream. Bondy's songs on Believers are simple to the point of sounding spectral, built around his gracefully elemental guitar figures and washes of piano and organ, and bassist Macey Taylor and drummer Benjamin Lester let the performances move like the tides, easy but strong. Bondy's songs on Believers aren't much on narrative specifics, but he sure knows how to create an ambience, and there's a sorrowful beauty in his vocals that's tremendously effective; while he never sounds for a minute like he's forcing himself, this ranks with the very best singing Bondy has done in the recording studio to date. Rob Schnapf, who co-produced Believers with Bondy, has given this music a spacious tone that's the aural equivalent of a classic film noir, with the moon gleaming off rain slick streets, and it's a superb match for Bondy and his songs, fusing beauty, mystery, and menace at all turns. While many of Bondy's previous albums found him openly emulating the sound or aural details of some other artist, Believers sounds much more like Bondy has simply followed his own muse for a change, and the results reveal his confidence was well founded -- these ten songs are full of elusive magic and Bondy and his collaborators have made an album that's long on mystery but satisfying enough to make it worthy of repeated investigation; you're not likely to hear a new album that sounds better after 1 A.M. than this anytime soon.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
A.A. Bondy is actually the birth name (the initials stand for Augeste Arthur) of Scott Bondy, the former lead singer of Birmingham, Alabama's Southern grunge darlings Verbena, frequently compared to Nirvana because of their gritty, aggressive sound and Bondy's searing vocals. The band, which also initially included drummer Les Nuby and bassist Daniel Johnston, was formed when all three were in high school in the early '90s. Later, singer and guitarist Anne Marie Griffin joined the trio, then called Shallow. Nuby eventually left the group and was replaced by original Remy Zero drummer Louis Schefano, and after a name change to Verbena, the band released the EP Pilot Park on Merge. Nuby rejoined the band a year later in time for Verbena's debut full-length, Souls for Sale, which caught the ears of Dave Grohl, who agreed to produce the band's major-label debut, Into the Pink. Johnston left the band, making Verbena a trio once again, and it was as a trio that Verbena recorded their third album, 2003's La Musica Negra, before calling it quits. Bondy retreated to his Catskills home in Palenville in upstate New York, and in time, began writing songs again, emerging with a stripped-down indie folk sound. He recorded and mixed his debut solo album, American Hearts, at a barn near his home, releasing the project in 2007 on the Superphonic imprint. The album was picked up by Fat Possum and re-released early in 2008. A second Fat Possum album, When the Devil's Loose, appeared in 2009, with a third, Believers, following two years later in 2011.
''BELIEVERS''
SEPTEMBER 13 2011
40:50
1. The Heart Is Willing /3:59
2. Down In The Fire (Lost Sea) /4:35
3. Skull & Bones /3:12
4. 123 Dupuy Street /1:09
5. Surfer King /4:00
6. Hiway/Fevers /4:50
7. Drmz /3:26
8. The Twist /4:19
9. Rte. 28/Believers /6:59
10. Scenes From A Circus /4:21
All Tracks By Bondy
A.A. Bondy /Guitar, Organ, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Benjamin Lester /Drums, Pedal Steel, Piano
Russ Pollard /Drums
Macey Taylor /Bass, Organ
REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Former Verbena vocalist A.A. Bondy summoned up a compelling late-night mood on his 2009 album When the Devil's Loose, and for 2011's Believers, Bondy's music has crept further into the darkest hours of the early morning, conjuring up a sound that lurks somewhere between consciousness and a dream. Bondy's songs on Believers are simple to the point of sounding spectral, built around his gracefully elemental guitar figures and washes of piano and organ, and bassist Macey Taylor and drummer Benjamin Lester let the performances move like the tides, easy but strong. Bondy's songs on Believers aren't much on narrative specifics, but he sure knows how to create an ambience, and there's a sorrowful beauty in his vocals that's tremendously effective; while he never sounds for a minute like he's forcing himself, this ranks with the very best singing Bondy has done in the recording studio to date. Rob Schnapf, who co-produced Believers with Bondy, has given this music a spacious tone that's the aural equivalent of a classic film noir, with the moon gleaming off rain slick streets, and it's a superb match for Bondy and his songs, fusing beauty, mystery, and menace at all turns. While many of Bondy's previous albums found him openly emulating the sound or aural details of some other artist, Believers sounds much more like Bondy has simply followed his own muse for a change, and the results reveal his confidence was well founded -- these ten songs are full of elusive magic and Bondy and his collaborators have made an album that's long on mystery but satisfying enough to make it worthy of repeated investigation; you're not likely to hear a new album that sounds better after 1 A.M. than this anytime soon.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
A.A. Bondy is actually the birth name (the initials stand for Augeste Arthur) of Scott Bondy, the former lead singer of Birmingham, Alabama's Southern grunge darlings Verbena, frequently compared to Nirvana because of their gritty, aggressive sound and Bondy's searing vocals. The band, which also initially included drummer Les Nuby and bassist Daniel Johnston, was formed when all three were in high school in the early '90s. Later, singer and guitarist Anne Marie Griffin joined the trio, then called Shallow. Nuby eventually left the group and was replaced by original Remy Zero drummer Louis Schefano, and after a name change to Verbena, the band released the EP Pilot Park on Merge. Nuby rejoined the band a year later in time for Verbena's debut full-length, Souls for Sale, which caught the ears of Dave Grohl, who agreed to produce the band's major-label debut, Into the Pink. Johnston left the band, making Verbena a trio once again, and it was as a trio that Verbena recorded their third album, 2003's La Musica Negra, before calling it quits. Bondy retreated to his Catskills home in Palenville in upstate New York, and in time, began writing songs again, emerging with a stripped-down indie folk sound. He recorded and mixed his debut solo album, American Hearts, at a barn near his home, releasing the project in 2007 on the Superphonic imprint. The album was picked up by Fat Possum and re-released early in 2008. A second Fat Possum album, When the Devil's Loose, appeared in 2009, with a third, Believers, following two years later in 2011.
