American Aquarium singer/songwriter BJ Barham harbors a deep-seated love for struggling blue-collar characters, the kind who populate Willy Vlautin novels or songs by a younger Bruce Springsteen. He shows us broken families, unfulfilled dreams, and places inside of us where addictions can fester. And the band’s brand of alt-country simply chugs and twangs, haunts, and breaks. The lifting “Family Problems” tells of a sinking alcoholic about to drown. “Wichita Falls” captures small-town futility. “Man I’m Supposed to Be” is all about the internal search. The songs trade on personal regrets, yet there’s always a thread of hope. Beautiful stuff.