I wrote this review on Wednesday, but held
back publishing it so I could pair it with my review of my experience at
Ritter’s concert in Vancouver on Saturday. However, earlier today Ritter
cancelled his show due to issues with his voice.
Argh. I am torn between frustration at the
cancelled show and the realization that seeing him sing his songs poorly wouldn’t
have been any better.
Disc 1272 is… Fever Breaks
Artist:
Josh Ritter
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the
Cover?
Following the young king’s untimely death everyone agreed that holding the
coronation ceremony on a flood plain had been a case of poor planning.
How I Came to Know
It: It
is a new Josh Ritter album. I like Josh Ritter a lot, so checked this album out
as soon as it was released.
How It Stacks Up: I have five of Josh Ritter’s ten albums and I
like to think I have his best five. With that in mind when I say “Fever Breaks”
ranks 4th best remember that while that’s near the bottom of my
collection, it is near the top of his overall body of work.
Ratings: 4 stars
After a couple of recent Josh Ritter albums
that were good but not top five material, “Fever Breaks” was a return to form.
Ritter’s style often varies from record to
record. On “Fever Breaks” he works in a driving rock and roll sound, fueled in
part by his collaboration with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Isbell produced
the record and the result is exactly what you’d hope for: a mix of Isbell’s
southern alt-country grit and Ritter’s melodic whimsy.
The combination is seamless and would make for
a great double bill with Isbell. If you’re looking to make up the cancellation
with me Josh, that would do it. Just sayin’. Regardless, I felt Jason’s ghost
and unseen hand all over the production.
The record is well paced and starts with songs
(“Ground Don’t Want Me”, “Old Black Magic”) that have high
energy, designed to get your attention. They do that ably, but for me the
record really gets moving when Ritter slows down and lets you slow-soak in
melodies that reveal raw honesty and a healthy dollop of romanticism.
Sometimes, as with “On the Water” love
is a miracle, simultaneously impossible and full of ease, “just a short walk
on the water.” Ritter catches the tension of love’s pull, referring to his
heart as just “a silver fish on the line of your laughter.”
Other times, like on “I Still Love You (Now
and Then),” love is just a memory, coming back to haunt you through time.
The lyrics are painful, but the tune has a hopeful, confident chord progression
that lets you know he’ll get through the worst of it.
Ritter also gets political at times, but
always grounds it in personal experience. “All Some Kind of Dream” is a
Dylanesque reverie about how America has lost the open heart it once had for
newcomers. “The Torch Committee” is a dystopian exploration of
institutional injustice, where those responsible for passing judgment do so
from structures designed to shield them from culpability. Or as the committee
opines on the song:
“And though you know that we take
pains
The process of the law remains
All technicalities aside
You see our hands are also tied.”
In the end, the accused has one way to escape
punishment – find others to take their place. It is one of the most troubling
forms of violence; the kind perpetrated by those coopted by an unjust cause to
turn on their own.
Ritter has a bit of Leonard Cohen in his
delivery of “The Torch Committee” (albeit with a lot less gravel) and it
is one of many songs that draws on a rich singer-songwriter tradition. In
addition To Cohen and Dylan, and with its piano trills and Southern U.S.
everyman pastiche, “A New Man” had me thinking of Bob Seger, if Seger
sang folk music.
“Blazing Highway Home” sounded a bit
too much like Steve Earle’s “Goodbye” for my tastes, but it is just a
case of there being only so many chords and guitar strums after you’ve heard a
lot of music. It wasn’t a Miranda Lambert level offence like “Kerosene”,
so much as a future opportunity for the girls of “Pitch Perfect” to do a
mash-up.
“Fever Breaks” features Ritter’s usual amazing
songwriting, and the injection of Jason Isbell’s music sensibilities gives him
a whole new palette of sound to play with. Listening to it filled with me with
a fever of my own; a fever to hear it performed live at the Vogue. Unfortunately,
this was not to be.
Best tracks: On the Water, I Still Love You (Now and Then), The
Torch Committee, All Some Kind of Dream, A New Man
No comments:
Post a Comment