Big fan of Josh - The Animal Years and The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter are at the elite of singer/songwriter albums. While still good, I was a little disappointed in this CD. It still has catchy pop gems - "Change Of Time," "Lantern," and "Orbital" - but it's lacking in songs like those that we know well from him. It's a little low on energy. Stand out ballads include "Folk Bloodbath" and "The Curse." Other ballads are fine but rely too much on similar strumming and his still-strong storytelling lyrics. The only real missteps are "Rattling Locks" and "The Remnant," where he tries to sound like Tom Waits. Those two songs have rhythms that go nowhere.
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