Josh Ritter
Golden Age of Radio

(Signature)

First Appeared at The Music Box, October 2003, Volume 10, #10

Written by John Metzger

On his sophomore effort Golden Age of Radio, Josh Ritter puts forth the intriguing notion that the line that separates British folk artists such as Nick Drake and David Bowie from Texas singer-songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Jerry Jeff Walker is a fine one. Throughout the album, spacious folk songs (You’ve Got the Moon) are interspersed with lilting country ballads (Roll On), occasionally merging together on tracks like Come and Find Me and Leaving. The sparse arrangements of many of Ritter’s tunes add an air of claustrophobic tension to his lyrics, which largely revolve around small towns and the desperate need to escape them. Indeed, he frequently sounds much older and far more reflective than his age of 22 years says he should, and while Golden Age of Radio isn’t quite a masterpiece, it does demonstrate that Ritter is more than capable of putting one together.

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box