On Feb. 5, up and coming musical artist Ritt Momney released his newest single “Not Around.” The song is similar in tone to many of his other songs but has a new vibe with instrumentals that was not present in some of his earlier music. He falls into the indie pop genre, but his songs are also soulful and sad.  

Ritt Momney is the stage name of Jack Rutter – a 21-year-old man from Salt Lake City, Utah. Before the pandemic hit, he had planned to open for Dayglow on their tour throughout the U.S.  

In April, Rutter released a cover of the incredibly famous song by Corinne Bailey Rae “Put Your Records On.” This went viral on social media platforms like TikTok, shooting him to fame. His 2019 album got more attention after getting noticed by millions for his cover.  

His first album – “Her and All of My Friends,” was the perfect thing to listen to if you are in the mood to get your feelings out. He was inspired by his own experiences. After high school, his friends left to go on a mission trip and his girlfriend moved away. Throughout the songs, you can hear about his emotional journey and recovery from this.  

He also tackled his religious identity or lack of. In the song “(If) The Book Doesn’t Sell,” he conveys his struggle with figuring out what parts of religion resonated with him and which had been ingrained in him as a child. He grew up in a Mormon household, but in the song, he discusses that he wants to figure out for himself where his faith lies rather than blindly following the words of a book.  

The album uses lots of electronic accompaniments, and many of the songs use autotune to give it an electronic feel.  

His new song is quite different in this sense. In “Not Around” his vocals sound much rawer and rather than electronic music it is accompanied by a strong guitar. There is also a guitar solo towards the end of the song that was done by the artist Palehound, and the song itself was co-written and co-produced by Rutter and Dayglow.  

The song has a similar emotional aspect to his earlier music. The lyrics are all about someone he loves coming and going, and the way he feels when they are gone – whether it be physically or mentally. He can feel that this person has a new distance from him emotionally even when they are reunited.  

The guitar adds something to his music that was lacking before. It makes the song feel even more emotional and real, whereas at times in the older album the electronic feel made it seem a bit insincere.  

If this song is a clue towards the overall vibe of his upcoming album, it is going to be even better than “Her and All of My Friends.” Rutter has an amazing voice, and when he can tap into his emotional experiences, he creates amazing music. Listening to this song and his future creations is certainly worth the time.