Behind The Tracks: Ricky Mendoza - I Just Died (Single) (2021)

What would happen at the moment of your death? What would you feel or see? That’s what Ricky Mendoza explores in his new song about this moment that is a mystery to all human beings.

Ricky says, “I wanted to experience the confusion of that moment. A moment of half-consciousness and awareness of the surroundings and everything that is going on. The feeling of the most massive confusion ever, of waking up and finding out that you’re still experiencing stuff but at a different level, a different being almost, and that is what gives the song an eerie feeling.”

It gets creepy and scary at first and then there’s a moment of realization with the repetition of, “…just peace.” This transitions the song to another level, another level of spiritualization perhaps, where the protagonist leads us to a final crescendo to the flow of life.

“Everything started with that phrase ‘I just died,’ and I thought of everything that would occur if death happened right now and I lost touch with my mortal self,” he reveals.

The sounds and the lyrics dance and align to create the mood and it definitely feels other-worldly. It’s been five years since Ricky Mendoza’s last record and this shows a different direction that is still introspective, punk, and yet relatable.