A consuming new album from The Ram, I Am Nowhere, I Am Everywhere channels a blend of moody rock and reflective Americana, steeped in themes of memory and personal transformation. The songwriting of Mark “The Ram” O’Donnell combines with a fantastic production, recorded with his live band in his coastal home of Carlsbad, CA; the album reimagines bare-boned demos into fuller tracks that blend West Coast warm and East Coast memories.
An enjoyably hypnotic opener, “Listen to the Cold” melds debonair guitar twangs and mellow keys within a warmly absorbing melodic drive. Descriptive lyrical emotion — capturing a certain feeling and place — succeeds throughout the album, and particularly on this track, with its reverence for the past. “Now that he’s gone I come back home, to the memories of this old place,” O’Donnell sings, artfully beckoning to childhood memories and an enduring love for his father. “Always coming home after working late,” a particularly affecting refrain shows, traversing seamlessly into further recounting of how “all the good times coming back to me.” The album quickly showcases O’Donnell’s penchant for vivid, soul-touching lyricism with “Listen to the Cold.”
A playful, bluesy bounciness takes hold on “Love Is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” where smoky keys attain a jazzy charisma following colorful depictions of music’s connective power. “I′m a gonna spread a little love around, playing myself some guitar,” O’Donnell lets out — setting the scene of “crowded sidewalks,” in a city full of life — both of art-embracing joy and its share of dangers. The album unveils an evident appreciation for art as a vehicle for personal expansion and spreading love, seemingly also echoed on “Everything,” which resembles a gripping aesthetical hybrid of Bruce Springsteen and Nick Cave. Its comforting central refrain — “everything transforms into something beautiful,” — reminds to treasure life’s wave-like flows, whether in the form of city-set wanderings on “Love Is a Terrible Thing to Waste” or the cathartic celebration of personal independence within the delectably sweltering “Unbound.”
Its guitar work reminding fondly of Tom Verlaine’s twangy expressiveness, “The Moon’s Loving Light” also feels celebratory in its capturing of past memories. While “Listen to the Cold” hearkens to childhood comforts, “The Moon’s Loving Light” echoes to young adulthood and its sense of late-night adventures — whether a “favorite band is playing ’til a quarter after two,” or staring with wonder at the “moon’s loving light.” The touching “Perpetual Change” is more central to the ethos conveyed across these recollections — capturing how fleeting life is, tied together by unforgettable moments and people that forever impact. A free-flowing guitar solo adds wonderfully in the second half.
Closing the album, “Warmth of the Fire” conjures a nocturnal feeling in its sporadic guitar touches and suave vocal stylings, asking “can I hear an amen, my friend?” in playing like a prayer — one addressed to “rural America,” per O’Donnell, while also being another homage to his late father. A later refrain — urging to “feel the warmth of the fire,” — furthers that sense of unity, wherein those find common roots in hard work, family, and the resulting sustenance that provides. I Am Nowhere, I Am Everywhere is a consistent showcase in immersive songwriting from The Ram, enthralling with poetic introspections on family, art, unity, and the overall progression life.
