We’ve always been strong proponents of A.A. Bondy’s music here on C.O. so news of new material from the underrated troubadour is always welcome. Set for a September 13th release on Fat Possum, Believers marks Bondy’s third full-length album for the Oxford, Mississippi label. Where 2009′s When The Devil’s Loose gave the full-band treatment to the sparse arrangements of Bondy’s debut American Hearts, Believers takes that evolution a step further. Bondy’s image-driven, vaguely-spiritual songwriting remains an unwavering backbone, but the instrumentation on Believers is accentuated with more experimental, expansive textures. Pulsing keys add an intriguing element to the otherwise straightforward album opener “The Heart Is Willing.” Elsewhere, “Down In The Fire” resides in a similar vein as Devil’s Loose highlight “A Slow Parade,” but the song winds down hypnotically with atmospheric swells that interplay perfectly with a wall of guitar feedback. Then there’s the Motown-inflected “Surfer King,” which flirts with new levels of accessibility while maintaining the thematic intrigue that makes Bondy’s material so fascinating. He takes even more chances on “The Twist,” a moody turn that somehow sounds like a bizarrely fulfilling marriage between folk-rock and Joy Division. The album drifts off with ethereal slow-burner “Scenes From A Circus,” in which ringleader Bondy muses “I pass somewhere through the ether.” While it’s the most texturally complex of his outings, Believers more closely mirrors the ambience of Bondy’s live performances, which offer unpredictable takes on already-captivating source material. The songs here feel like living, breathing entities both pliable and ever-evolving. The album marks yet another expectation-exceeding effort from one of independent folk music’s brightest spots. — Capt. Obvious

Listen:

AA Bondy – The Heart Is Willing by fatpossum