The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter

 

I first stumbled across Josh Ritter on a trip to Dublin. His previous album These Animal Years, including the catchy single Wolves, seemed to be on in every bar we went in. After then seeing a window display for the album in Dublin’s HMV – I wondered how I’d missed the guy before.

 

This latest album is deliberately a bit under produced than previous stuff, but it works. The tracks are all catchy pop tunes but with a rougher, back to basics approach.

 

Album opener To the Dogs or Whoever starts like Dylan and ends like The Pogues!

There are lots of styles and sounds, but slower paced songs like Empty Hearts and Still Beating complement the livelier, live soundings songs such as Minds Eye and the funky Rumours.

 

It’s an adventurous album with a full band and horn section adding to the ramshackle party feel. In the words of Josh Ritter on Rumours –“the string sections screaming like horses in a barn burning up”, sums up the whole album.