‘Empty Street’ is the second single by Mainard Larkin from his forthcoming album Rattlesnake Boy, out May 22. While the album is loosely themed around a down-on-his-luck pro-wrestler trying to survive outside the ring, ‘Empty Street’ pivots to a more universal battle: the raw, lingering ache of a finished relationship.
‘Empty Street’ is a heartbreaking alt-country song, but refuses to settle for the "miserable ballad" trope. Mainard created the album with Shannon Fowler (Tom Lark), who previously helped co-write his biggest hit as a rapper (‘Heatwave’), before they decided to explore country music. The pair perfectly capture the wistful melancholy of a person trying to pull themselves through the heartbreak, as Mainard explains:
“The song is about dealing with someone who’s broken up with you. Sometimes you have to say: ‘don't be nice to me, just act like I don't exist, because if you still give me attention, then I’m still going to feel like I’m in love with you.’ Maybe in two years you can talk to me … maybe in four years!”’
Mainard says the line “lately I’ve been feeling like a ghost” expresses what it’s like to be someone dealing with grief - “hovering around while everyone is acting normal, but inside you’re just totally wrecked.”
While Rattlesnake Boy is a concept album about a pro-wrestler, ‘Empty Street’ anchors the album’s broader theme: perseverance in challenging times when the old rules no longer apply. It’s about the grit required to adjust to a new reality when your world has been flipped upside down, like a wrestler facing life outside the ring.
‘Empty Street’ is accompanied by a music video by Ali Burns that captures the song’s universality by showing a wide variety of people bearing their souls while doing karaoke to the song, while Mainard playfully acts out the character on the lyric screen. We hope ‘Empty Street’ song will pluck at your heart strings too!