The Influencing Environment On An Indie-Folk Transformation
A.A. Bondy has weathered several band line-ups and genres before finally settling into his bones with When the Devil鈥檚 Loose.
Bondy鈥檚 former band, Verbena, couldn鈥檛 sound more different to his latest solo offerings; the grunge-rock outfit鈥檚 second, most well-known album Into the Pink was produced by Dave Grohl, fuelling comparisons between Verbena and their bigger brother, Nirvana. However, as his new indie-folk offerings prove, Bondy鈥檚 heart wasn鈥檛 in the band mentality. While most musicians would be keen to gloss over any turbulent waters among past bandmates, Bondy describes the way his relationship with Verbena comrades broke down simply as 鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 like it anymore.鈥 The band drove until they 鈥渉it water and nobody knew how to build a boat鈥, at which point they needed to head in their different directions. Although free from the many-headed burdens of band politics, Bondy 鈥渨ent swimming for a while,鈥 but it is certain he鈥檚 now on dry land. So much so that it makes you wonder where Verbena鈥檚 songs really came from. It takes a look back at Bondy鈥檚 past musical forays to uncover the complete turnaround in both sound and name 鈥 from Scott, adopted for Verbena, back to his birth name of Auguste Arthur.
This mirrors not only the change in Bondy鈥檚 direction and sound, but seems to be a metaphor for the more natural, personal method of song writing that is apparent in When the Devil鈥檚 Loose. The haunting, soulful vocals enjoy their melancholy with such lyrics as: 鈥淵ou know I could drink the whole world and never get my fill鈥. In particular, The Mightiest of Guns represents the organic, fluid nature of the song-writing on this album, holding on to the theme of delicious sadness that runs throughout, encompassed in the line: 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 give up your blues without a fight.鈥 Written in the wake of American Hearts, Bondy鈥檚 first solo album, the song has the sparse nature of the first release, but the tangibility of his accompanying band. Written mostly by 鈥渟itting upstairs in a bar and catching whatever was in the air at the time鈥, Bondy鈥檚 鈥渨eird abstract memories of writing The Mightiest of Guns鈥 are modest, giving the feeling that this album was not constructed but happened honestly and naturally.
As the bar setting was conducive to the writing of that particular song, so the American south was integral to the album as a whole. When The Devil鈥檚 Loose is the first of Bondy鈥檚 records to be primarily recorded in his home region, and the geography lends itself to the re-working of his talents in a more mature and sincere way. The imagery often dubbed as being of a Christian nature in Bondy鈥檚 lyrics where people drag 鈥渃rosses down the streets鈥 talking of 鈥渄emons鈥, 鈥渟ins鈥 and 鈥渁ngels鈥 is a mystery to Bondy, who doesn鈥檛 鈥渧iew it as being overtly Christian necessarily, just as some kind of attempt at some sort of otherness. When you grow up in the South that kind of stuff finds its way into people鈥檚 lives.鈥 It becomes apparent that Bondy has no intention of implying clich茅d religious sentiments, and is genuinely aware of the human need for faith. His roots and culture are interwoven through the lyrics until you feel you are listening with him.
With a momentous journey already under his belt, it鈥檚 difficult to believe Bondy has something up his sleeve to follow When The Devil鈥檚 Loose. Remaining with the candid formula that worked so well, he admits: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the new direction is yet until it happens.鈥 You get the impression that this album is somewhat of a relief to Bondy 鈥 his freedom and labours coming to fruition; with fans such as Bon Iver and Conor Oberst, he鈥檚 in good company. For further information, please visit .
Sophie Gordon
