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American Aquarium
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American Aquarium

American Aquarium
Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 08:00 PM
Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL

20 years. 20 records. Over 4,000 shows. And somehow, American Aquarium are still finding new ways to surprise us. On New Ways to Lose, frontman BJ Barham and his band of road warriors turn two decades of survival into a driving, deeply-felt rock one built on resilience, reinvention, and the hard-earned clarity that only comes with time.Weve always been outsiders, says Barham, whose songwriting has steered the group through lineup changes, heartache, addiction, recovery, a global pandemic, and every other obstacle imaginable. Long before algorithms and viral breakthroughs spelled out success in the music industry, American Aquarium earned their place the old-school way: through relentless touring and a stubborn refusal to disappear, even when the odds suggested they should. New Ways to Loseturns that outsider status into armor. Produced once again by multi-time Grammy winner Shooter Jennings, the album was recorded in LosAngeles over a 10-day session that captured the band at their most immediate and alive. Much of the record was tracked live, with Jennings encouraging spontaneity and instinct over perfection, while around of overdubs offered the opportunity to add three-part harmonies and horn arrangements to the songs. The result is a muscular, cinematic record that embraces both sides of American Aquariums identity: the bruised confessionals of a songwriter whos already spent decades sharpening his craft, and the full-throttle release of an anthemic, amplified rock & roll band. Hot-wired with the same electricity as their live show, New Ways to Lose nods to heartland heroes like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Neil Young while remaining unmistakably American Aquarium.For Barhamwho formed the band in 2006 in Raleigh, North Carolinathe album isnt just a snapshot on a band at its peak. Its a personal turning point, too. All of my records are yearbooks, he says. Twenty years from now, Ill pull them off the shelf and remember exactly who I was when I wrote them. If e

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