Golden Age Of Radio

Stories are strewn throughout Josh Ritter’s second album, Golden Age Of Radio.

The Idaho-born 24-year-old creates a distinctive world within his songs – a place where “the billboards are our best friends” and people “play guitar to burn off the hours”.

The atmosphere throughout these twelve acoustic tracks is gentle and intimate.

Ritter’s voice possesses a compelling, rustic quality. A wistful softness reminiscent of Nick Drake pervades the gentle ‘You’ve Got the Moon’. On the standout title track, meanwhile, he showcases a harsher, grainy sound closer to that of Elvis Costello or Bert Jansch.

Many of these songs, such as ‘Anne’ and ‘Lawrence, Ks’, creep up quietly on the listener, slow burning themselves into the memory. Album opener, ‘Come And Find Me’, is particularly lovely, Ritter’s warm vocals perfectly complementing the simple, effective guitar pluck

Others, such as ‘Roll On’ and ‘Drive Away’ prove less impressive. Ritter’s lyrics always shine, but his tracks sometimes lack enough musical originality and chutzpah to set them apart from the pack. At times, Ritter sounds too much in thrall to his folk music forebears.

Still, there is a massive amount of potential on display here. Ritter may not give Ryan Adams a run for his money yet, but time is on his side.