On August 18, 2016, AJJ released their sixth album, titled “The Bible 2.” AJJ is a folk punk band formed in 2004, composed of Sean Bonnette, Ben Gallaty, Preston Bryant, Mark Glick, and Deacon Batchelor. “The Bible 2” on first pass sounds simple, with catchy melodies and memorable lyrics. But on closer examination, the lyrics of each song paint a darker picture.

The third track on “The Bible 2,” “Junkie Church,” feels at first like a ballad, with its simple guitar chord progressions and focus on a male narrator relaying a feeling of love to a woman. However, the lyrics of the second verse point to a much more haunting backstory. The lines “I was manic at the clinic / I was feeling like my body disappeared” place the speaker in a mental clinic, where his only link is with his love. He is suffering from a dissociation from his body, and this woman is the only one really helping him through, telling him “all the things I need to hear / Like I’ve got a heart of gold / And a kind and open soul.” The song culminates in the loss of his love, when an ambulance arrives, and he is frozen in place by sadness.

The fifth track “No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread,” has a remarkably optimistic chorus, but again is in a deeply dark mindset. The titular chorus is a whispering prayer, a plea to get out of the surroundings of despair. He dreams of a world without hurt feelings or fear of the world.

The bleakest of tracks is “Goodbye, Oh Goodbye,” the sixth track on the album. Yet, this track masks the pessimism of the lyrics with an upbeat pop sound, akin to Ok Go. In fact, the music video that AJJ released for this single deliberately parodies the style of Ok Go.

From the first line, Bonnette references child abuse and neglect and the haunting effects of an abusive father beyond childhood. In the second verse, Bonnette describes drug addiction as a constant nagging, “pecking at my head,” which could mumb like nothing natural. Bonnette makes a clear connection between childhood and adulthood in this song, referencing a distance between him and his parents which he only wants to increae. He sings that, since seventh grade, no one understood him, and that “If I move away enough / They won’t outrun me.” This creates the chorus, his saying goodbye to everyone.

“They Bible 2” by AJJ is filled with nuance and meaning. Beneath a veneer of feel-good melodies and style, “The Bible 2” tells a story of deep pain, hatred, and despair.