2008 Woodie Awards
Hello Starlingstrenghtens songwriter's reputation
Jen Ryan
Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Chances are you haven't heard of Josh Ritter yet, but that doesn't mean others have not.
Norah Jones nominated Ritter's Hello Starling album for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. A 2005 reader's poll in Hotpress, Ireland's answer to the Village Voice, named Ritter best male singer, best song writer, and best folk act, placing him ahead of Bob Dylan and David Gray. Critics are comparing Ritter's sound to a young Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, and even Bruce Springsteen.
The February 22nd re-release of Ritter's Hello Starling album may garner this Idaho-born twenty-something more notice though.
Ritter's Hello Starling strengthens his status as a solid addition to the singer-songwriter community. Throughout Hello Starling, Ritter's quirky lyrics stand out as Ritter sings about the pitfalls and plusses of love and life. The lyrics are infused with the literary devices English teachers talk about-literary allusions, hyperbole, and metaphors. Ritter tends to write about ordinary events, like the search for love, but his writing makes even the ordinary seem extraordinary and romantic.
Ritter likes spare arrangements in his music. "Bright Smile," which starts off the album, features an acoustic guitar, light percussion, and a bit of piano. The effect is an understated song that sounds soothing, like someone could listen to before falling asleep.
Some songs like "You Don't Make It Easy," "Bone of Song," and "Wings" have only an acoustic guitar. The resulting songs feel intimate as if Ritter were performing for the listener at a small venue or coffeehouse.
Spare arrangements let the lyrics take center stage. By having only a guitar on the song "You Don't Make It Easy, Babe," the whimsy of the lyrics is able to come forward. The listener can appreciate Ritter's frustrated comparison of himself to a peeping tom when he sings, "Here I am standing at your window again/waiting for you to say go away or come in/I'm your locked door's worst knocker/Your curtain's best friend/I'm trying hard to love you-you don't make it easy, Babe."
Norah Jones nominated Ritter's Hello Starling album for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. A 2005 reader's poll in Hotpress, Ireland's answer to the Village Voice, named Ritter best male singer, best song writer, and best folk act, placing him ahead of Bob Dylan and David Gray. Critics are comparing Ritter's sound to a young Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, and even Bruce Springsteen.
The February 22nd re-release of Ritter's Hello Starling album may garner this Idaho-born twenty-something more notice though.
Ritter's Hello Starling strengthens his status as a solid addition to the singer-songwriter community. Throughout Hello Starling, Ritter's quirky lyrics stand out as Ritter sings about the pitfalls and plusses of love and life. The lyrics are infused with the literary devices English teachers talk about-literary allusions, hyperbole, and metaphors. Ritter tends to write about ordinary events, like the search for love, but his writing makes even the ordinary seem extraordinary and romantic.
Ritter likes spare arrangements in his music. "Bright Smile," which starts off the album, features an acoustic guitar, light percussion, and a bit of piano. The effect is an understated song that sounds soothing, like someone could listen to before falling asleep.
Some songs like "You Don't Make It Easy," "Bone of Song," and "Wings" have only an acoustic guitar. The resulting songs feel intimate as if Ritter were performing for the listener at a small venue or coffeehouse.
Spare arrangements let the lyrics take center stage. By having only a guitar on the song "You Don't Make It Easy, Babe," the whimsy of the lyrics is able to come forward. The listener can appreciate Ritter's frustrated comparison of himself to a peeping tom when he sings, "Here I am standing at your window again/waiting for you to say go away or come in/I'm your locked door's worst knocker/Your curtain's best friend/I'm trying hard to love you-you don't make it easy, Babe."