Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Trent Depue |
Over the course of his musical career, Josh Ritter’s level of critical acclaim has been on a steady and well-deserved rise. Peaking on 2006’s The Animal Years, and followed up the next year with the equally impressive The Historical Conquests of, Ritter has been cementing himself as a top tier musician and lyricist. Now, three years later, he is hoping to add to his list of distinctions with So Runs the World Away.
With a seemingly endless supply of top notch tracks to compare to – ‘Girl in the War,’ ‘Monster Ballads’ and ‘Thin Blue Flame’ being among the best in class – he certainly has his work cut out from him. And after the first few songs on So Runs the World Away, it seems he has no intention of crumbling under the high expectations. Opener ‘Change of Time’ is a brilliantly dynamic musical composition, while the following track, a well-written, imaginative love song about a resurrected Egyptian mummy who falls for the archeologist who unearths him (“He opens his eyes/falls in love at first sight/…after thousands of years, what a face to wake up to”), is comparatively simplistic but equally captivating. Completing the trifecta of lead off tracks is ‘South Pacific,’ which provides some of the records best melody, particularly in the chorus.
Following this fantastic start however things become slightly more grounded. There are still highlights to be had, ‘Lark’ has Ritter at his most Paul Simon-like, and the epic ‘Another New World’ is a strong point in the late stages of the record. However the albums two final tracks ‘Orbital’ and ‘Long Shadows’ fail to bring the record to a particularly strong close.
Despite these few missteps, Josh Ritter’s reputation should still be safe. His lyrical prowess is still proven to be fully intact on the majority of the records tracks and his musical sense and development continues in the right direction. Hopefully it doesn’t take another three year wait to find out if he can rebound back to top form, the likes of his two previous releases.
