Josh Ritter
Label: SonyGenre: Country, Folk, Rock
What I said about Josh Ritter a year and a half ago pretty much stands true today, except that now there's another great release to add to his repertoire, including the fantastic, Dylan-esque "To the Dogs or Whoever" offered here. They don't make as many songwriters these days who can encapsulate the sweeping American experience and still sound as personal as your oldest and dearest friend, so set yourself to downloading (especially "Dogs," "Kathleen," and "Harrisburg") and have a great weekend.
To the Dogs or Whoever [MP3, 4.2MB, 160kbps]
ORIGINAL POST (5/5/06):
Today's post feels only slightly like cheating since Josh Ritter, far from being undiscovered, is on the same label as a long line of next big things. But 3hive is about what we're listening to lately, and Ritter has been ringing in my ears for a good stretch now. Listening to his bare—albeit fuller and acutely polished on his V2 debut—acoustic harmonies and smooth hangdog vocals is wonderfully calming. Yet Ritter is hardly a lyrical lightweight: listen closely and you'll discover a songwriter who isn't all the way to Dylan, Cohen, or Springsteen quite yet (although the nine-minute "Thin Blue Flame" is an epic The Boss would likely be proud to call his own), but whose subtle wordplays and intensely intimate arrangement echo such greats of his own generation as Elliott Smith, Gillian Welch, and Ryan Adams (in his enlightened moments). But don't let all these names fool you into thinking you're getting derivative hippie-father-in-law music: Ritter is good enough to draw comparisons to great traditions, but he has the potential to start a tradition or two of his own.
Girl in the War [MP3, 6.1MB, 192kbps]
The Thin Blue Flame [MP3, 8.9MB, 128kbps]
Kathleen [MP3, 3.8MB, 128kbps]
Snow Is Gone (Live) [MP3, 6MB, 192kbps]
Me and Jiggs [MP3, 2.9MB, 128kbps]
Harrisburg [MP3, 3.8MB, 128kbps]
Leaves and Kings [MP3, 3.2MB, 128kbps]
Beautiful Night [MP3, 2.5MB, 128kbps]
www.joshritter.com
us.v2music.com
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