American Aquarium on their latest album, ‘Fear of Standing Still’

Come for the condiment talk, stay for the critical examination of toxic masculinity. Today on World Cafe, we’ve got a fascinating conversation with BJ Barham of American Aquarium. The Duke’s Mayo-loving, NC State diehard has fronted the alt-country band from Raleigh for almost two decades.

Their latest record, produced by Shooter Jennings, is called The Fear of Standing Still. It sees Barham turning 40 and balancing a life of making rock music while raising a family. The album also looks outward, tackling the complexity of Southern identity, generational trauma and political issues like reproductive rights.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.