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Sep 23, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Luke Judd

Oakland band B. Hamilton in the 11 years since its inception has grown from a bedroom project for singer/songwriter Ryan Christopher Parks into a full-fledged, rock and roll outfit. Later this fall the band is back with their fourth album, Nothing and Nowhere, their latest collection of driving guitar riffs and character-driven cinematic vignettes. Today they share their latest single, “45 and Straight,” premiering with Under the Radar.

After opening some stomping percussion and pounding stings of guitar the track reveals its central figure一“45 and straight/Caucasian divorcee/60-minute lunch break/In the middle of the day.” The tense, moody atmosphere imitates the Springsteen-esque portrait, eventually reaching a riff-laden climax as the band launches into chaotic dueling guitar heights. The picture that finally emerges is a disillusioned and bitter powder keg, one that could seemingly explode at any moment.

Parks says of the song, “‘‘45 and Straight’ was written after Trump was elected. It was easy to picture his supporters as the cartoonish white supremacists from Charlottesville, but what about the least stimulating version? What about the suburban office worker who eats lunch in his car, listening to talk-radio or podcasts designed for him to find provocative, and stews in anger and resentment about what they perceive to be promised to them? Who is that person and how did they end up at their conclusions?”

Check out the song and video below, directed by Luke Judd, and watch for Nothing and Nowhere, coming October 15th Via Sofaburn Records.