“Eraser” Hints At Ricky Montgomery’s New and Exciting Turn in His Career
On April 7th, indie darling Ricky Montgomery released a new single to tease the nearing release of his unnamed sophomore album. While “Eraser” talks about Montgomery’s experiences with isolation during the height of the pandemic, the sound itself is a turning point for his career as he begins to establish his musical voice outside of his Tik Tok and Vine popularity.
Originally a small artist who bounced between bands in West St. Louis County, Ricky Montgomery found a bout of success in Vine with funny short videos and used that popularity to bring attention to his solo work. He released his first EP, “Caught on the Moon,” and a few years later, his debut album “Montgomery Ricky.” However, while he had a loyal fanbase waiting for any new projects, it wasn’t until the early days of the pandemic that his music truly got the attention he earned.
Tik Tok, which has become known for taking small artists and picking them off the ground, discovered “Mr. Loverman,” a song from Ricky Montgomery’s first album, and immediately dragged it to the spotlight, bringing a second renaissance in his musical career. It couldn’t be helped that this song and many others from his debut album became associated with many groups in fan culture, and the power of fans is one to be reckoned with, as Ricky Montgomery grew from niche indie singer to borderline mainstream in exponential expediency.
Ever since this, he’s done many things with this newfound fame, including signing a record deal with Warner Bros and releasing a second EP, all while working on his second album, which has yet to be announced but has been relentlessly teased on his social media.
Following the highly anticipated drop of this second album, Ricky Montgomery has released a single: “Eraser.” This newest title under his belt diverges from his normal sound, leaning less into the rock side of indie rock and more into a mellow, electronic indie vibe that feels more like a daydream than a heart wrenching song to sing to at three am on the highway.
Even though the sound is new and experimental for someone such as him, Ricky Montgomery’s career has been filled with divergences. He’s incredibly well rounded in musical genres, and while he doesn’t wander too far from indie, his talents allow him to venture off into different sounds while maintaining the core of who he is.
Even with simpler stanzas making up “Eraser,” Ricky Montgomery keeps the quiet prose of his lyrics that has always resonated with people, even if the inspirations for those lyrics aren’t universal experiences. He balances bite-sized metaphors with that steady pace of the drums that neatly walks the line between somber and uplifting he’s been doing since his debut.
Now that he has the backing of a record label, this well-crafted single is just a taste of what’s to come, and everyone will be waiting eagerly for his next album’s release.