Rock n’ roll was meant to be short and to the point. It was to be the kind of thrill you didn’t admit to but something to which you kept returning. It was supposed to be a sound of freedom in a world that saw little worth in you if you weren’t playing by the rules.
But for a while rock n’ roll felt forced to prove itself. Songs got longer, and those got stuck on concept albums. The audience wasn’t listening to a two-minute adrenaline-filled tune anymore but a rock opera.
Maybe this is a time when we ought to take rock back to its essence and simplicity. The Ram’s releasing a new, short EP featuring the song “Unbound,” and freedom and the price of it are, once again, on the mind of its roots-rock-loving songwriter.
It’s great to have a sound that you can rely on. The Ram has figured out what
The band the band sounds like. On “Unbound,” it’s the resonant, jangly guitar and expressive keys that do most to push the song out into the sunset.
But these are hardly just jams from people who like to try out their vintage gear. “Unbound” returns to a familiar theme – people who think that they can control the natural world are crazy and are better off joining it.
The mellow but raspy vocals are another trademark of The Ram. Here, they sing “Unbound” about how it’s better to search for freedom rather than comfort and how it’s best to change down hundreds of song ideas than rely on one jingle to make you rich and famous.
What will you get when you do all of that? A little bit freer and a lot more ready to live in the world as was intended. If you need some extra consolation, virtually flip the record over, and you’ll hear “Unbound” as an instrumental.
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