SPILL FEATURE: LATELY I’VE BEEN FEELING GOOD AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO BAD – A CONVERSATION WITH SEAN BONNETTE OF AJJ

LATELY I’VE BEEN FEELING GOOD AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL SO BAD

A CONVERSATION WITH SEAN BONNETTE OF AJJ

It is not uncommon for a band to utilize emotions and anxieties typically felt by most of society, sometimes even framing them into a dystopian motif. Yet in a post-pandemic world, humanity shares much of the same mental weight, making art that dials into these topics have an immense impact on the consumer. AJJ is a band who, through Sean Bonnette’s lyrics, has always understood the emotional influence of music and embraced that aspect of it. Whether it be the blazing folk punk from their beginnings to the massive sonic evolution of Disposable Everything, the ability to be vulnerable and connect with the audience is something that the band and Bonnette have made integral to their art, placing them into a category which Bonnette refers to as the “embarrassment threshold.” Essentially, a term that contains artists who are not afraid to be vulnerable and show sides that others may even refer to as cringe in its nakedness.  Yet in a society that experiences more widespread mental health struggles, the embarrassment threshold remains a vital component of their new music.

While most AJJ albums are more privately composed, such as the previous LP that was nearly a sole collaboration between Bonnette and co-founder Ben Gallaty, Disposable Everything was a much more collaborative effort with the entire band. Instead of having more structured song ideas, he brought them to everyone “in a much more embryonic state,” which is surprising given the increased emotional weight to the songs brought on by the death of Bonnette’s mother. The lyrics themselves would still remain fairly closed off, but allowing the music to be composed together was something that both challenged him and opened him creatively, but in the end gave stronger movement to his words.

DISPOSABLE EVERYTHING ALBUM REVIEW

The album was set to be an anthology of sound, inspired by 1981’s Heavy Metal, combining elements from the previous two releases and the ideas that would come from the band, including producer David Jerkovich who was brought in creatively as a sixth member and integral to the direction of songs like “I Had A Thought Of You,” which showcases one of their many moments of experimentation, cascading out into a prog-rock burst that mirrors the freedom of idea expressed through Heavy Metal. And other than the collaborative approach to the record, their overall sound has continued to evolve since AJJ’s beginning. The microscopic scrutiny to the lyrics and the value of the embarrassment threshold were always there, yet the early music was a product of the chords and song structure that Bonnette knew, and now he was able to combine his widened talent with that of five other members.

Other than the anthology or “mixtape” approach, the album was also always intended to be dynamic, to allow for “the softest moments to have an effect on how we perceive the hardest moments,” such as the title track in comparison to the rock driven “Death Machine.” Keeping this emphasis on tonal range, the band would take ideas that Bonnette created, sometimes walking a stroller down the street while his child napped and bring them into the studio so they could come out with something tangible, something they could listen to and apply fresh approaches. The meaning behind the song would be purposefully elastic unlike before, where the songs were more strongly rooted in social and political events that could be used to voice displeasure at the current state of times, allowing now for the subconscious to take over the placement of framing. This is an open arms approach to outside influence, which without it the record would not be the varied work that it is. For instance, Bonnette had the rest of his bandmates listen to Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” to help understand the overall mood that drives the track “White Ghosts” and create a deeper understanding of the song throughout the band.

Without the new process to the writing, the connection to artistic influence and allowing that to further the emotional response from their music, Disposable Everything would not be possible. With Bonnette remaining emotionally naked in recordings and on stage, the new sonic weight elevates his words, making lines like “Lately I’ve been feeling good and that makes me feel so bad / If happiness is finite then I’ve had all I should have” hit with so much more velocity and strength that, given the subject matter and familiar headspace, will grab even more listeners than before. But it isn’t simply the mental landscape being recognized, that’s just a bonus in terms of connection. With the practice of the embarrassment threshold, Bonnette’s words create bleak mirrors of our world through bluntness and deep sincerity, regardless of how it is perceived, and that is what remains a strong component in this latest release. Disposable Everything showcases vignettes of our “post-collapse” society, each with their own musical backdrop fused to its concept, but they are each easily recognizable through the visual approach to the lyrics and the humor to remind you that there is always something to laugh about.

Artist Links

Photo Credit: R. Ariel

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