Pantomime Horses have a sure-footed way with musical history, and “Everyone’s A Ghost” is a great example of what they do so well. Blending a touch of 60’s guitar twang and some 80’s post-punk-pop vibes, they arrive in the here and now via some intriguing sonic stepping stones – everything from The Kinks imperial age to Paisley Underground revivalists, XTC’s clever pop quirk to Neil Hannon’s blend of understated, dry (nay, arid?) wit and small town words of wisdom.
It is a reminder that songs don’t have to be big to be clever; in fact, an inverse scale is usually the norm. “Everyone’s A Ghost” is more about melody than muscle, about feeling than impact…although its quiet melancholy speaks volumes… about poise than pace.
And it is also a highly personal song. Sung from the perspective of Karen, the wife of singer Rob Silber who tragically lost her eyesight to severe and undiagnosed diabetic retinopathy, her’s is a world where everything’s invisible, everyone’s a ghost, and no one grows old.
In others’ hands, such a song, such a sentiment might be turned into a melodrama, beg sympathy, play the woe-is-me card. Instead, Pantomime Horses, being cleverer and more subtle than that, tell a tale of gentle dignity, grace under pressure, and finding normality in a life-altering situation. In their own words, (and I’m quoting them because they are perfect, not to be bettered) it is about capturing the ebb and flow that runs from “tragedy to survival; from independence to dependence; from resignation to resilience.”
Some songs’ messages are writ large, others are writ deep… this is one of those times.
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