Ricky Eat Acid - Am I Happy Singing (2018)

Ricky Eat Acid is the electronic solo project of Baltimore-based Sam Ray, also known for fronting indie pop band Julia Brown and lo-fi/emo group Teen Suicide. While both of those acts have incorporated electronic and experimental elements into their work, Ricky Eat Acid is a full-on immersion into dreamy, abstract soundscapes. Easily Ray's most prolific venture, the project has yielded numerous digital releases and cassettes, and is one of the flagship acts of the Orchid Tapes label/collective, which also includes artists like Foxes in Fiction and Elvis Depressedly. Ricky Eat Acid's haunting, ethereal recordings vary from ambient miniatures to disjointed beats to fragile avant pop songs.

After writing songs for several years, Ray first debuted Ricky Eat Acid in 2011 with the cassette Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere and a few digital releases. By 2012, he'd appeared on Orchid Tapes with the cassette You Get Sick; You Regret Things. This was followed two years later by the vinyl LP Three Love Songs, as well as a cassette of B-sides and outtakes from the album. Three Love Songs earned much critical acclaim and helped expand Ray's cult following. In 2016, following Ray's marriage to rapper Kitty, Ricky Eat Acid signed to Terrible Records and released the album Talk to You Soon. ~ Paul Simpson