Josh Ritter - ‘Girl In The War’ (V2) Released 27/11/06

A feast of softly sung acoustic music perfect for rainy days and hangovers. With a passionate following in Ireland and being able to count Stephen King as a fan its about time we all listened to one Josh Ritter song. He deserves it. Ritter has a soft melodic voice which could be regarded as dull. Some people may want to kick him up the arse and say implore him to belt a song out like a man. Sometimes this EP sounds like it should be the soundtrack to Dawson’s Creek or the OC it’s all so poetically earnest.  ‘Monster Ballads’ is notable for its inclusion of a piano but Katie Holmes’ face continues to loom. Damn Joey Potter.

 One of the strengths of this offering from Mr Ritter is that it is consistent. His talent shows on every single track. Some could argue that this means it’s consistently sappy. Au contraire. If you like Tom McCrae and Gillian Welch you’ll find treasure in Josh Ritter.

The majority of the 7 tracks are acoustic and have a melancholy or romantic tinge to them but this by no means makes it boring. The guitar work varies between soft folk, intricate threads and upbeat and akin to Jack Johnson. The title track features twice as there’s also the acoustic demo and this is no surprise as it has a gentle hook to it that just gets under your skin and want to dance in a rose garden at dawn. 

“… got a girl in the war her  eyes  like champagne they sparkle, bubble over and in the morning all you got is rain.”

‘Harbortown’ has an early Paul Simon pureness to it. It shares emotion gently and fleetingly without using the obviously cloying let’s bleed it dry and whine school of thought. All those people who rushed out to buy James Blunt listen to this EP once, it’s not too late to redeem your souls. Ritter could be your salvation. Then you’ll know what beautiful really is.