Saying that someone sounds a bit like The Wallflowers, Joe Purdy, or Damien Jurado, and a lot like early Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart might seem a bit like a mashup. True, it reads like Josh is going to sound like a mass confusion of influences and styles and run on sentences. And while his sound is varied and complex I would never for a second suggest that he is distracted. Underrated yes. Conflicted yes. Great musically and lyrically, double yes.
His latest album will easily find it's way into the best of 2006 lists that always seem to crop up late November. It's not a lock for the number one album of the year. It might not even have that much power to it, that much superb originality. What it does have is a weight and childlike mirth to the sound that is captivating. By the second track you'll have already decided that you're going through this album at least twice in a row, maybe more, and you'll want to understand what he's talking about because everyone wants to be a part of something this wonderful.
mp3 : Josh Ritter - Girl in the War
mp3 : Josh Ritter - Good Man (Live on NPR)
buy his latest album, Animal Years, on Amazon for 13.99
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