Artist To Watch: Nervous Verbs

Nervous Verbs is Mike Montgomery, and Mike Montgomery does lots of things. You may know him from mixing the latest single from Superchunk, “Bruised Lung.”

You might also know Mike Montgomery as the second half of the duo R. Ring. The other half of that duo is none other than Kelley Deal of The Breeders. Their 2023 album “War Poems, We Rested” landed on the Chris’s Picks top 23 of 2023.

Some folks might also recognize Montgomery for his recording studio, Candyland. Located in Dayton, KY, Candyland has been a staple of the greater Cincinnati indie and punk scenes for years. Those same folks might also remember Mike Montgomery’s early band Thistle. Some of those same folks might argue that Thistle was some of his best work still to date. I am one of those folks.

That being said, Nervous Verbs is truly his most complete and best work to date. “Repeating Line” opens Pony Coughing with picked acoustic guitars before giving way to the excellent single “Vicious Riffs.” For what it’s worth, my favorite song on the record is “Chasing the Strings,” but you may have a different choice. And that’s okay because “I Am of Tremelo” is a good choice, too.

Pony Coughing is out now, streaming everywhere you’d expect. Here’s a Spotify link just in case:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0ILJ81h4yu57rnPunQDcCq?si=cf9AeNVVQPCXXjW8KdcLTg