We have the splendid Campfires & Battlefields to thank for this one.  He emailed an mp3 of Vice Rag a while back which I loved so much I posted it immediately and also stuck it straight in a podcast.  I went straight out and bought the album too, and I’ve been listening to it for a while.

There is absolutely nothing new here.  Monsieur Bondy occupies pretty standard low-fi Americana territory, with only the sparest application of anything as rock-related as an electric guitar.  At times he sounds almost Dylanesque, at times more like Willy Vlautin of Richmond Fontaine.  You will listen to this album and hear nothing you haven’t heard a thousand times before.

That said, for some reason it is very satisfying.  Vice Rag may still be the standout song, but the whole first half of the album prickles with songs about the American psyche, taking on patriotism, tribalism, religion and all the other themes most artists would never have the balls or wherewithal to tackle.  And he does it with lovely tunesmithery, a rich and cosy atmosphere, and a deft touch with his arrangements.

Maybe the familiarity of the musical territory leads you to underestimate this album.  You don’t really notice it when you put it on, but once it sinks in there is tremendous depth to enjoy, and you will find the darker atmospheres start to grow and ultimately envelop your understanding of it.  He talks of a lot of dark places, does Scott Bondy, and he doesn’t rush himself doing so.

A.A. Bondy – Killed Myself When I Was Young
A.A. Bondy – Vice Rag

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