Lonesome Cat is the moniker of visionary artist and song craftsman Monty Oliver Anderson, who writes from real life experience about possibly the most common human experience – suffering, beauty and mortality. On ‘Acoustic Mourning’, he crafts heartbreaking, universal compositions, often speaking in ‘cat language’ as a tribute to his beloved cat, Batty, who passed after it seemed the rest of his life experience fell like the final move of a Jenga game. As Trent Reznor once said, ‘everything falls apart’. Anyone who has experienced loss, especially of their only love left in this ever-pummeling world, should connect with this somber collection. The lyrics cut deep, reflecting a soul who has been through it all, and because of inner resilience, is still here. Anderson also happens to be blind, yet taught himself music theory. Through adversity comes the richest of rewards.
“The past few years have been frankly devastating. The world that I had spent years building crumbled to the ground. I lost numerous friends, family, pets, my job, and my wife. My only solace was my cat, Batty. She had been with me for sixteen years, and no matter how bad things were getting, holding her in my arms made me feel like everything was going to be okay. Then in the summer of 2024, she came down with a respiratory illness, and on December 5 of that year, I had to make the decision to end her suffering. It destroyed me. I couldn’t eat or get out of bed for days. Her passing crystalized the fact that everything we love will someday leave. We are all going to die, and there is nothing we can do about it. Of course I knew this intellectually from childhood, and friends and family have also recently passed on, but somehow this was different. This was the first time that the reality of our mortality, and the fact that we really don’t know where we are going next, crashed into me like a fist. I’ve always had a somber outlook on this world, but you know you’re in an unusual place when thoughts of death, knowing that you will one day leave this world, gives you a sense of peace. Now, over two years later, I still haven’t recovered fully; I’ll probably never be the same.
Since childhood, I had always loved music and had dreams of one day making an album, and in 2012, I committed myself to music. I am blind, and learning to play an instrument as well as learning music theory and the art and craft of recording and mixing music was extremely challenging, but I continued pushing myself forward and searching for different methods of learning.
In early 2026, I discovered that I could make my lyrics and musical ideas come alive with the computer. Since I had spare time after losing my job, I treated music like a job, focusing ten hours a day, seven days a week, on putting my songs together. The end result is Acoustic Mourning. It is a true reflection of who I am as a person and deals with the issues I consider important and profound: loss, grief, isolation, death.
I put my heart and soul into this album, and I dedicate it to the memory of all of my beloved pets and friends who have meant so much to me and who are now gone.”
‘Acoustic Mourning’ is out now via Monty’s artist-run label Unsound Creations
Stream on Spotify.
Acoustic Mourning track list:
Against the Shadow
Through the Night
Beautiful Oblivion
Thinking of You
Ride Your Wave
In the End
Going Home
Down the River
Table for One
NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE
Standing Still
Mercy
General Information:
Monty Oliver Anderson is 53. He grew up in Arizona, and after high school, he moved to Maui with his father. In that time he acquired degrees in Clinical Psychology and Law. Monty started playing Bass when he was 13, but never focused on it seriously until 2012, when he began studying music theory, guitar, and vocals.
He worked for several years in the legal profession and the non-profit sector for persons with disabilities. He has a deep passion for animal welfare.
