If there was a musicological definition of Josh Ritter’s music, it might refer to rootsy, strangely familiar, circular melodies, framing straightforward lyrical messages. Everyone from Neil Young to Rufus Wainwright has something in this vein in their repertoire – but Josh Ritter is a master of the genre. Easy to sing or strum along to, songs in this vein are often dismissed as being slight, but that’s missing the point. They are designed so that the singer can inject a touch of hope into the life of a fretful listener – and as such references to Heidegger or the Eurozone crisis would probably interrupt the flow.
In Bringing In The Darlings Josh Ritter has produced a collection of lovely, beautifully finger-picked songs where optimism shines through melancholy. It begins with the softly sung, Paul-Simon-like ‘Why’ in which he attempts to banish fear, and ends with the gently romantic and self-explanatory ‘I Can’t Go To Sleep Without You’. Along the way, he borrows a line from the old folk song ‘Make Me Down A Pallet On The Floor’ for his own ‘Make Me Down’ and takes a detour into the ‘50s with ‘Love Is Making Its Way Back Home’, which features twanging electric guitar, lightly doo-wop backing vocals and dose of slap-back reverb.
Ultimately, it’s a gently joyous experience. Even on songs like ‘Darlin’’ in which he unsuccessfully entreats a girl to call him ‘Darlin’’ there’s a triumphant dash of brightness. You just know she’s going to call him ‘Darlin’’ eventually. And she does.