Jimmy Pitts
The pandemic left musicians around the planet scrambling for ways to continue putting their music out into the world. Some bands live-streamed performances, while others hunkered down in the basement, finally finishing that crazy rock opera about the Crusades that the bassist refuses to play. In the case of roots rocker Ryan Hamilton, the solution came back to what music inevitably always comes back to. The song.
Twelve of them, to be exact.
Hamilton, aided by UK producer Dave Draper, released a new track every month in 2021. For Hamilton and his fans, it was a welcome distraction from the terrifically drab and equally terrifying reality of wiping down bags of Cheetos and fifths of whiskey with sterilized Wet-Naps. As we round the final months of 2021, Hamilton is so pleased with his year-long project that he’s decided to release the songs as a proper album.
1221 will be released on November, 26th via Wicked Cool Records. The record finds Ryan Hamilton shooting for the top of the AAA charts, with choice covers by the Spin Doctors, Satellite, and the Refreshments sitting alongside collaborations with Bob Schneider and Chuck Prophet. The resulting collection of songs is sure to pick up where his 2020 release, Nowhere To Go But Everywhere, left off – taking over UK charts. From the sounds of this advent calendar of a record, the States are not far behind.
From the outside, 1221 has a high gloss sheen. Closer inspection reveals that the recently divorced, Covid-19 isolated Hamilton is working through some heavy issues. Look no further than the track “Permanent Holiday.” For all of its talk of heaven and angels, the song is actually about death. Seemingly only about death, as there isn’t a redemption narrative to be found. No, Hamilton happily accepts “the big one” with a chorus that erupts in anthemic pop-punk fashion. Over nimble keys and soaring background vocals, Hamilton ends the song singing triumphantly, “I just might stay.”
“Do the Damage” is a barnburner of alt-rock-based country, finding a place on the shelf next to Hootie & The Blowfish and Gin Blossoms. Again, we see Hamilton in a state of distress singing, “Do the damage, I don’t want to wait too long.” Surprisingly, a spaced-out synthesizer appears in the second verse, giving the song an added texture and elevating it from a roots tune to a radio-ready single.
Across 1221 is an alternative, late nineties flavor. If not for the twang in Hamilton’s lead guitar and vocals, you would swear tracks like “Shots Fired” and “Do the Damage” were American Hi-Fi B-sides. The effect of this leads to the slow songs hitting even harder, while the catchy up-tempo numbers make you want to crush a beer and make a mistake. In a good way. No “permanent holidays” for me just yet.
Finishing the record is the ballad “Ready to Love Again,” a song about the walls we put up to keep ourselves from being vulnerable. It’s a sad recognition of the self-imposed restrictions we put on our own happiness, set to deep stabs of piano and swelling strings. Hamilton ends the album, and the year, resolving to tear down the barriers to love, and I for one, am glad. After the last few years, we all deserve it.
Stream November’s single, “If Life Was A Movie,” here, and be sure to preorder 1221 here.
To close out 2021, Ryan will play his 3rd annual Holiday Hoedown show live from the Historic Church in Stephenville, Texas December 9th. You can purchase tickets here.
1221 Track Listing
1. How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)
2. Deja Vu I Love You
3. Caught up in a Moment
4. Satellite
5. Babies
6. Shots Fired
7. Big Man
8. Permanent Holiday
9. Banditos
10. Do the Damage
11. If Life Was a Movie
12. Ready to Love Again
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