Ritter's debut promising

Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter

Even the most aloof senior has probably been casting her mind back a little bit recently, with a tinge of sentimentality. A copy of senior Josh Ritter's debut album, which is being released this weekend, might help feed her nostalgia.

Ritter's self-titled album is not sentimental or retrospective on the surface. But being good folk music, the songs reflect the life of the songwriter; in this case that life has been Oberlin for the last four years.

The album captures an essence of Oberlin in a way that is distinctly folky. Ritter's songs capture the emotional roller-coaster Oberlin can be, the tension between home and school, and the deep confusion most of us experience while we are here. The album will speak to Oberlin students, not just because it mentions places they know - Cleveland, Ohio, Vermillion - but because it describes feelings they are familiar with.

The album is folksy to the core; the songwriting is full of cynicism and irony, wrapped up in poetry.

Ritter's album is in the tradition of such folk giants as John Prine and Guy Clark. Although he is a talented musician, and his guitar-playing is deft, Ritter's smart lyrics are the most powerful and distinct part of the album.

On one track, he sings about a friend: "You were born in the city/ I didn't recognize you/ Your beauty unexpected/ Like a flower in the concrete."

The observations and metaphors Ritter use are simple, but it is this unobtrusive, astute simplicity that makes gives the music something to say.

If there is anything negative to say about Ritter's album, it is that he tries too hard to be folk. The music, lyrics, topics and cover art scream "I'm folk." Added to Ritter's own image, the package is airtight. While the album might not sound too different if Ritter abandoned some of this, the cloud surrounding it might be a little more authentic.

Ritter does a good job integrating the ideas in the songs with the music and his singing style. "Potter's Wheel," for example, is about cycles: cycles of love, of days, of feelings. He sings: "Try'in to stay ahead of morning/ As time came running with us/ She beat us to the finish as we ran through the fields." The music in the track is also very circular; chords are played rhythmically and fluidly, until everything in the song comes around to where it started.

Several tracks on the album stand out. "Angels on Her Shoulders" is a simple song about seeing a beautiful woman at a party, but Ritter delivers it sensitively and emotionally. Zach Hickman's harmonica adds energy to the track as well.

"Paint Your Picture" is a poignant song, about remembering and letting go, in the context of love. Ritter's delivery is tender and emotive.

And "Paths Will Cross," a song Ritter wrote before he came to Oberlin about leaving his high school friends, is a welcomed inclusion. The song will speak surprisingly clearly to Oberlin students as well, demonstrating the universal nature of Ritter's music.

Josh Ritter is a promising debut album for Ritter, who upon graduation will seek his fortune as a professional folk singer in the Boston/Providence area. Undoubtedly this experience will give Ritter fodder for many more songs, and hopefully more albums.

Fans have an opportunity to get a copy of the new album Saturday at the Cat, where Ritter will perform at a CD release party. The performance is at 9:30 p.m. Ritter is also on the bill for the May 1 Oberlin Folk Festival.

I'm folk: Senior Josh Ritter will perform at a CD release party Saturday at the Cat (photo courtesy Kim Brockman)