by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
There are few more likable bands in the universe making music today than Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts. Led by the artistic, heart-on-my-sleeve songwriter, singer and guitarist Ryan Hamilton, the dudes released the mammoth This is the Sound in 2019 to well-deserved critical and fan acclaim. You can’t NOT like this band, or their follow up, Nowhere to go But Everywhere. You can’t fight science … facts are facts.
The lush “Only a Dream” leads you into the album, a simple, hyper-melodic and melancholy track about finding the “glory of the great unknown.” It’s all about living in the moment, taking advantage of the unknown time you have left, letting the bad times fall behind you where they belong … and remembering to smile. It’s a bit of an existential call to action, with the “wake up wake up” refrain throughout the song. Heady yet easy.
“Oh No” is a quirky, somewhat onerous track they released as a single, made up of their favorite songs, bands, lyrics, and shout outs to what they love most in music. While it received a truckload of positive press, it’s likely the weakest song on the album.
They follow up that yawn with the best song on the release, “Jesus & John Lennon.” The chorus is as addictive as fentanyl to a morphine cranker. So damn good, lyrically insightful, and it also owns the power to somehow piss of those who beat their Bibles instead of read them, making it an instant winner.
If that isn’t the best song, welcome to the groovy, danceable, “Out of My League.” Hamilton sings with such a smirk to his vocals, amused and confused, with a “so this happened” kind of vibe. “All my friends are saying she’s just looking to settle. Guess what? I’m gonna let her.” That’s perfect.
If there is anything to pick apart on Nowhere to Go but Everywhere is that it’s extremely autobiographical. Hamilton makes no bones about how his divorce hurt him, how he healed from it, and the scars it left behind. If you follow him closely enough, the pain was larger than merely divorce, and he bares his soul. Like on “Let’s Go Slow,” it’s almost excruciating (not musically) hearing and feeling his perception of what dating means. It’s not about the lust and excitement and new possibilities–it’s about avoiding more pain.
“Don’t Fall Apart” is more of the same, just a morose composition of longing and lagging and painstakingly trying to grow in the eye of a hurricane. Is it a good song? No, it’s awesome, it’s a freakin’ brilliant song. But it’s sad, exactly the opposite of a song like “Mamacita” on their prior release.
“Southern Accents” is an ode to the south, more like The South … Texas to be specific, where Ryan Hamilton is from. It is Americana, Folk, almost Country music, and if this album is about love and loss, he’s got nothing but love for Texas. Hell, you don’t have to go home again if you never leave, and this song just feels like “home.”
“We Gave It Hell” is an acoustic, slower rocker, a song about choosing to be a man instead of a boy when the woman you love leaves you behind. While still sappy, the song picks up and all of the albatrosses around your neck find the strength to fly away. “Pick Yourself Up” continues that thread, urging you to keep fighting and rewriting the story you want the world to read about you. So, bravo to the gents for taking us through the entire broken relationship process in one album.
This may have been something Ryan Hamilton needed more than The Harlequin Ghosts, and maybe next time around we’ll see the more pop-influenced side of the band. By no means is this release worse than their debut–it’s just different. Eventually time changes everything, but it can’t change that these are the likeable underdogs you’ll always pull for, no matter what kind of music they make.
Genre: Rock
Band:
Ryan Hamilton – Vocals, Guitars
Mickey Richards – Drums
Rob Lane – Bass
Tracklisting:
Only a Dream
Oh No (feat. Kay Hanley)
Jesus & John Lennon
Out of My League
Let’s Go Slow
Can I Get an Amen
Don’t Fall Apart
Newcastle Charm
Southern Accents
We Gave It Hell
Pick Yourself Up
Label: Wicked Cool Records
Online:
https://www.facebook.com/RyanHamiltonandTheHarlequinGhosts/
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.2 / 10)
