Ladder to Nowhere

single

Ladder to Nowhere

At 123 BPM in a wide-open D major, ‘Ladder to Nowhere’ spends its first 45 seconds building on an arpeggiated synth before the rhythm section kicks the door down, and that transition earns every second of the setup. The chorus hook, ‘the only way is up on the ladder to nowhere,’ lands with the kind of melodic certainty you find on a Bangles A-side, and the bridge line ‘the highest step I’m chasing keeps changing its disguise’ gives the ambition-spiral theme a real lyrical kick. STAB’s vocal sits right on top of a wall of layered guitars without ever getting buried, which is a production choice that pays off clean. A highlight.

Lyrics

Cold metal kills aspirations The silver steps made to betray Each answer asks another question While something says “Just one more day”

And the spaces between my fingers tell the story once again Of my climb towards the top, not now, not if, but when

I scale the ladder to nowhere and the oxygen is thin The summit dances beyond the places I have been The only way is up on the ladder to nowhere

Memories of my frustrations Can’t deny they’re motivations The silence of unanswered DMs Puts me into situations

And the spaces between my fingers tell the story once again Of my climb towards the top, not now, not if, but when

I scale the ladder to nowhere and the oxygen is thin The summit dances beyond the places I have been The only way is up on the ladder to nowhere

Constellations rearrange Into unfamiliar skies The highest step I'm chasing keeps changing its disguise

I scale the ladder to nowhere and the oxygen is thin The summit dances beyond the places I have been The only way is up on the ladder to nowhere

I’m on the ladder to nowhere The ladder to nowhere I’m on the ladder to nowhere The ladder to nowhere

Credits

Songwriter: Michael Anthony Rose