Americana rocker Josh Ritter can write a beautiful song. He’s one of America’s premier wordsmiths of the form. He’s also written two novels, which is no surprise; many of his best songs have narrative edge. He’s equally capable at the music, which he calls “cosmic country”. At his best, it has qualities that elevate the human spirit.
On his latest, his 13th album in a quarter-century career, the music is variable, but the lyricism seldom flags. The album is titled for his muse, which he calls “my honeydew” (yes, overly cutesy), and the songs are in honour of that. Be that as it may, the 10 numbers run the gamut from throwaway blues-rocker “Kudzu Vines”, berating the invasive weed, to shuffling steel-guitar-laced love songs such as “Thunderbird”.
Unlike some of his albums there’s a fair bit of filler, and one song, “Wild Ways” which is downright icky, a lame gospel-tinted FM radio rocker about “a higher calling”. There are others where, despite a not especially catchy backing track, his Dylan-esque voice enunciating fascinating lyrics carries it, as on the chug-along “Noah’s Children”.
But when he gets it right, it’s quite a thing. The acoustic “Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)” is about road tripping, lost love and star-gazing. It’s especially wordy (“Truth is not immutable/Itself is a dimension”) but contains some of the mysterious empyrean power of The Byrds’ extraordinary “5D”. “I’m Listening” is another one that mingles astronomy and social philosophy, bringing pondering uplift.
Those who want something earthier can turn to the looped shuffling blues of “Honeydew (No Light)”, riven with US landscape-crossing ominous imagery (“Dark days lead to dark nights”). There are other songs too that have decent heft, including the Leonard Cohen-esque closer “The Throne”. Ritter at cruising speed musters more richness than most singer-songwriters at full throttle.
Below: Watch the oddball lyric video (sort of) for "Truth is a Dimension (Both Invisible and Blinding)" by Josh Ritter
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