Music always lures Ricky Montgomery back. He blames the internet. First a devotee of the Vine underground, and now–nearly a decade and several jobs later–an unexpected hitmaker, the Los Angeles native has spent the last few years trying to reconcile with his artist self. He recently surpassed 1 billion global streams thanks to Platinum indie-pop hits “Mr. Loverman” and “Line Without a Hook.” But those songs, written when he was a teen, have come to feel like they were by a whole other person–at least to Ricky. In 2023, we get to meet Rick, a sophomore set that comes seven years later, rich with electro-laced, emo-tinged alt-pop that spins stories about life in all its messy and mundane glory. Ricky’s journey fits the bill: a childhood in L.A. interrupted by divorce, an adolescence playing in the basement bands of suburban Missouri, a viral explosion on a soon-to-implode platform, and a brief music career back on the West Coast that sent his songs up the Rock and Alternative charts. That was in 2014, before life intervened and he quit music for good… until the world discovered his sunny, sardonic songs. With millions of social followers and a string of sold-out tours under his belt, Ricky now sets out to document “my long, awkward path toward remembering myself as an artist,” he says. “It’s been embarrassing and difficult, but also thrilling. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do but was too scared to try.”