Last year, Josh Ritter's music was praised everywhere by everyone – even Stephen King got in on the act saying The Animal Years was “the most exuberant outburst of imagery since Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall.” And I was one of the praisers too, including the album in my Best of 2006 list and naming "Girl in the War" the song of the year.
So it was with mixed emotions that I put Ritter's new album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, into my CD player. I was looking forward to hearing it but worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations. This emotional quandary lasted all of two minutes, however, as Ritter's music quickly filled my headphones with awesome.
Ritter opens the record with the riddling, rollicking “To the Dogs or Whoever” - a song about Joan of Arc, Calamity Jane and a general named George, who I'm guessing is Patton. Ritter then revisits the track in the lyrics of “Empty Hearts” - the second to last song on the album. As it turns out, “To the Dogs or Whoever” is sung by the fictional characters of “Empty Hearts” - it's Ritter's aural version of Escher's Drawing Hand's.
It's this lyrical inventiveness that sparks all the Bob Dylan comparisons, but I don't think Ritter's music can be defined that easily. While Ritter does have the meandering poetic aspect of a Dylan, he also wields the story-telling skills of a Jim Croce or James Taylor. With just a guitar and a microphone, Ritter paints pictures, tells tales and knocks you over with cleverness.
My only complaint - and it's a small one - is that he sometimes jams too many syllables into small spaces, which creates a rushed, claustrophobic sound. That said, he's still the best singer-songwriter around, and he's not afraid to get experimental.
Throughout Historical Conquest a hushed background cacophony weaves its way – a kind of free-jazz dissonance that occasionally attains prominence, mixing with melody in tracks like “Mind's Eye,” “Open Doors” and “Real Long Distance.” The discordance is reminiscent of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but with more subtlety and horns.
The best song on the album, however, is a simple track featuring acoustic guitar and crisp vocals. “The Temptation of Adam” is a love story set in a missile silo, and if Ritter ever stops writing albums, he should try his hand at fiction - the song's lyrics are that good. Here's a small taste:
Download:
Josh Ritter | To the Dogs or Whoever [MP3]
Josh Ritter | Girl in the War [MP3]
Josh Ritter | More MP3s
So it was with mixed emotions that I put Ritter's new album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, into my CD player. I was looking forward to hearing it but worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations. This emotional quandary lasted all of two minutes, however, as Ritter's music quickly filled my headphones with awesome.
Ritter opens the record with the riddling, rollicking “To the Dogs or Whoever” - a song about Joan of Arc, Calamity Jane and a general named George, who I'm guessing is Patton. Ritter then revisits the track in the lyrics of “Empty Hearts” - the second to last song on the album. As it turns out, “To the Dogs or Whoever” is sung by the fictional characters of “Empty Hearts” - it's Ritter's aural version of Escher's Drawing Hand's.
It's this lyrical inventiveness that sparks all the Bob Dylan comparisons, but I don't think Ritter's music can be defined that easily. While Ritter does have the meandering poetic aspect of a Dylan, he also wields the story-telling skills of a Jim Croce or James Taylor. With just a guitar and a microphone, Ritter paints pictures, tells tales and knocks you over with cleverness.
My only complaint - and it's a small one - is that he sometimes jams too many syllables into small spaces, which creates a rushed, claustrophobic sound. That said, he's still the best singer-songwriter around, and he's not afraid to get experimental.
Throughout Historical Conquest a hushed background cacophony weaves its way – a kind of free-jazz dissonance that occasionally attains prominence, mixing with melody in tracks like “Mind's Eye,” “Open Doors” and “Real Long Distance.” The discordance is reminiscent of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but with more subtlety and horns.
The best song on the album, however, is a simple track featuring acoustic guitar and crisp vocals. “The Temptation of Adam” is a love story set in a missile silo, and if Ritter ever stops writing albums, he should try his hand at fiction - the song's lyrics are that good. Here's a small taste:
I never had to learn to love her like I learned to love the BombEven though the song's lyrics continue for quite a while, its story still ends too soon, leaving the reader (um, listener) wanting more. And luckily for the listener, there is more. To round out the album, Ritter includes two versions of “Wait for Love” - a song reminiscent of Lennon's “Give Peace a Chance.” With simple lyrics and a hypnotic, mantra-like chorus, the track marks the midpoint and end of the album, where it softly shuts the door and turns out the light.
She just came along and started to ignore me
But as we waited for the Big One I started singing her my songs
And I think she started feeling something for me
We passed the time with crosswords that she thought to bring inside
What five letters spell “apocalypse” she asked me
I won her over saying “W.W.I.I.I.”
She smiled and we both knew that she'd misjudged me
Download:
Josh Ritter | To the Dogs or Whoever [MP3]
Josh Ritter | Girl in the War [MP3]
Josh Ritter | More MP3s
