Content warning: This article mentions suicide.
I thought I could wait until the next morning to listen to Ricky Montgomery’s new album, “Rick.” Instead, I scratched that itch not even five minutes past midnight on release day, Sept. 29.
“Rick” is Montgomery’s first album in seven years and his debut with a major label, he said on Instagram. Continuing the trend of self-titled albums (his previous album was called “Montgomery Ricky”), “Rick” is an album about transforming as an individual but feeling confident in one’s self, each song breathing new air. It is also dedicated to his father, Rik Montgomery, who died by suicide.
Going in order that the songs are presented in the album, minus the two interludes and outro, I share my thoughts on them. The album was everything Ricky Montgomery had hyped it up to be and more.
- One Way Mirror
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“But why do I feel like a stranger behind a one way mirror?”
This song is phenomenal. Opening the album is a soft guitar strum that feels like being trapped in a cozy cabin in the woods — a heartbreak that will certainly pass. The string bridge immerses the listener on a bed of pebbles in a cold stream. It also includes xylophone tones, creating an atmosphere nothing short of whimsy. It’s a strong opener for an album that represents a new sound for Montgomery.
- Boy Toy
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“I’ll be your boy toy if you like, and by the way you look at me, I think you might.”
Sometimes, this song comes on shuffle while I’m at the library, and I have to fight with everything I’ve got to resist the urge to sing my heart out and boogie. I watched the song premiere live on YouTube when it was released as a single this summer. A candy bar of a song, it’s a flirty, fun, and catchy beat.
- Truth or Dare
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“Nothing’s really changed, I feel the same — same as I ever was.”
The song’s lyrics feel heavy with the challenges, dangers, and fears we feel in our teenage years, but the melody and timbre of Montgomery’s voice feel light and comforting. This song reminds me of my favorite movie, “Meet the Robinsons” — I would turn to it to assure myself the future is bright, and life right now, with all its flaws, will be but a happy memory in the end. I’ve really grown to like this song within the week that the album has been out.
- In Your Pocket
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“Okay, you want the song of the summer, and I’m getting older and dumber.”
I wanted to refrain from comparing songs in “Rick” to songs from “Montgomery Ricky,” but I feel like “In Your Pocket” is the “Don’t Know How” of this album. I’ll appreciate it for being a Montgomery song, but I can’t say I particularly like it: It feels monotonous and more of the generic melancholic pop song variety lacking the singer’s usual flair.
- Don’t Say That
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“I sit alone in the candlelight, because I didn’t get the job for which I tried and tried.”
Like “Boy Toy,” this song was released as a single earlier this year. Montgomery didn’t want to go too deep with this song, instead focusing on channeling a vibe, and it worked. I like a loud song from Montgomery, and I love the way he growls when he transitions into the chorus. I also love that he chose to vocalize a lot in this song. It’s a simple premise, but a wonderfully executed bop.
- Eraser
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“Eraser, you don’t have to run for your life.”
“Eraser” was the first glimpse we got into “Rick,” and Montgomery said it was their first glimpse, too. To me, this song is about stopping to take in life’s joys instead of spending every moment working hard. While I was initially slightly disappointed when I watched the song’s premiere as a single — it wasn’t “Line Without a Hook,” after all, but I was wrong to expect a song like that, anyway — it has strongly grown on me and I love the soft melodies and harmonies that seem to be tailor-made for Montgomery’s gentle voice.
- Type A
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“You’re my world, my perfect girl. She’s a Type A personality.
She’s a tomboy — she doesn’t know what it means.”Contrary to the very Type B-personality song right before, “Type A” is a love letter to a candidly feisty, fierce, competitive, and overall intense tomboy — a girl like me. It sounds like an early 2000s rock girl-and-boy song with a modern twist complete with the minor key melody, a yell, and a slowed down segment. That’s just what modern-day sk8ter girls are into.
- Paper Towel
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“I want to go, but you don’t want to come.”
Like a real paper towel, it’s not something I think about frequently: I don’t have particularly strong feelings about this song, but I do like it. Overall, it has a light sadness and heartbreak that I like hearing in Keane’s and Coldplay’s music. It’s also got interesting sound effects that sound like trilling and rumbling. It’s also one of the only explicit songs Montgomery has released, alongside “In Your Pocket.” I knew Montgomery said swear words — I’ve watched his vines — but it surprised me to hear one in a song. Maybe, there is a relationship between explicit language and how much I like a song.
- Ethan’s Song
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“I lose when I lose, and I lose when I win, but I still live to love and I love to live.”
I cried when I heard this song, and I still do. It’s only one minute and 50 seconds, but I can’t get enough of it. The lyrics couldn’t get any simpler, but the song is so full of love, both for life itself as well as a person who makes it worth living. I sometimes struggle with suicidal thoughts, so this song is one that I can see serving as a beacon of light, hope, and life.
- Black Fins
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“If your ashes sprang to life, would you just let me down?”
Directly following “Ethan’s Song” is the last song in the album is Montgomery’s opening up about his father’s death by suicide. While I don’t relate to this song personally, I admire the song for what it is musically, lyrically, and its personal meaning to Montgomery, as shared in a statement on his website.
I also shed tears to this song when I watched its premiere on YouTube. This song is the centerpiece tying not just the album, but all of Montgomery’s work together and changes how one listens to him entirely.
“With this song, it is my hope that I can carry forth that tradition of helping other people feel seen. If even one kid out there feels some kind of kinship from this song, that’s a good enough reason to put it out there into the world,” Montgomery said in an interview with Prelude Magazine.
“Rick” is a celebration of life, both Rik’s and Ricky Montgomery’s. It also definitely adds a lot to the life of a Ricky Montgomery fan, as I’ve literally lost sleep thinking about this album.