Miss Ricky released her Freshman Album, Sounds At Night, and it is absolutely stunning. Her velvety voice, lyrics that resonate so intimately, a unique mix of electro pop, R&B, and synth, and, to top it all, her self-production, make this project shine. Sounds At Night is a brilliant compilation of Miss Ricky’s deepest, darkest emotions, where she sheds light on her inner chaos, transmuting it into calmness. She embraces the art of kintsugi, filling the cracks left by traumas in her life with her golden sound.
We have inherited a world where trusting is tough, especially our own blood. Growing up, love seemed to be only the kind read in novels or screened through a blue rectangular gadget. We saw adults fight like silly children, yet rarely saw them reconcile like mature adults. Emotions got bitter, relations got soured, while families suffered. While I’m not familiar with Miss Ricky, aka Erika Liane Mendes, and her personal life, her songs speak volumes. Sounds of Night reverberate with thoughts and emotions that haunt sleepless nights. The seven tracks are the sounds of unrequited love, unhealed relationships, unmended trust issues, and uncertainness in faith.
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The album opens with Fantasy, which, in Miss Ricky’s words, is “a thesis of the entire project.” It explores the ironic reality of modern relationships. Love, being the highest form of existence for all beings in all forms, is desired and not found. It seems that Love has just remained stuck as a cinematic or dreamlike fantasy. With shimmering synths and Miss Ricky’s breathy vocals, Fantasy captures the divine allure of love that’s too often distorted by desire.
Places and Pick It Up stand out with unique beats and Miss Ricky’s lustrous vocals; it is a sleek package of love, lust, and urgency in a slow burn. That sound resembling ‘schmuck’ in Pick It Up made me wonder, was it a cheeky nod to an ex?
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I love Close To You the most because it brims with the sweetness of longing. While Deeper follows as a bold, gutsy number. The lyrics are raw and question the very bond of relationship, whether it is ready to dive Deeper beneath the surface layers of masks we all wear. The album closes with Just One Step, which is just over a minute long, but its brevity doesn’t diminish its emotional weight. The lines, “When I’m feeling blue, I come to you…My heart is yours…You’re all I ever needed…” leave me wondering if she is singing to her lover, herself (self-love), or her craft of music (passion)?
Sounds At Night lets the listener reflect. It is a magnetic dive into a late-night introspection. Major credit goes to Miss Ricky for self-producing such a tightly crafted album. Follow her stories and stay updated on future projects via her Instagram page.
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