With each new album, Josh
Ritter continues to tweak his music to create and even more complex and creative collection of music. With his newest album, he has developed an array of incredibly different songs that form one of his best full length recordings. There are a handful of songs that are both catchy, lyrically poignant, and artistically musical. He mixes big and bold with soft and small, taking the listener on quite a musical journey. "The Curse," one of his most lyrically beautiful compositions ever, tells the story of a cursed mummy coming back to life and falling in love with the woman who unearthed him and brought him to a museum in New York. It's a very unreal concept, but his soft delivery and lyrical poetry make it one of his best love songs. "Rattling Locks," "Lantern," and "Another New World" are all album standouts, and are surely amongst the best songs
Ritter has ever recorded. "Change Of Time" was the album's introduction to the world as it is currently in heavy rotation at AAA radio, and climbing the charts.
Ritter's new music is quite possibly his best, and as he has proven time and time again, his creativity in his songwriting makes every album, especially this one, outstanding.
Todd Carey is one of those pop singer/songwriters that gets underapprecaited, simply because his style of music sounds a lot like many others. Well, that doesn't mean that his music should not get recognized at all. His latest EP release starts off right where his last release left, with great pop tunes that are catchy, singable, and connect easily to the listener. He has always had a way with words, and on this release he shows off how sometimes the simplest lyrics and simplest content make some of the best music. Songs like the title track and "The First Day" are equal parts pop and indie, making them just perfect enough not to sound like the overdone style of pop rock you can hear on top 40 radio. His music is still small and personal, just the way it should be, and his fans and new listeners alike can all benefit from his connection to his lyrics and sincerity of his delivery.
Jack Johnson has become synonymous with laid back mellow acoustic tunes, so it's unlikely that he will stray too far from what he does best. This time he decided to plug in and kick the energy up a few notches with a little electric guitar sprinkled throughout his newest release. The mellower acoustic tunes on this release are actually some of the most mellow and quiet songs he's ever written, particularly "When I Look Up" and "My Little Girl." On the flip side, his most energetic tunes on this album are "The Upsetter," which is equal parts Santana, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Marley, and "At Or With Me" which finds Jack at his funkiest on this album. G. Love lends his bluesy harmonica skills to "At Or With Me" and "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology" and Hawaiian singer Paula Fuga also contributes her soulful backing vocals on a few tracks. The entire album was self produced by the band, making it the most hands on recording experience of their career. The single "You And Your Heart" is an instant classic, bridging the gap between Jack's old and new sounds for a track that is mellow and electric all at the same time. The song "From The Clouds" is also sure to become a single, as the music is catchy and the lyrics are easily singable. This album is a very personal album, as is evident on "No Good With Faces," "Only The Ocean," and "Turn Your Love," with Jack staying away from lyrics relating to politics and activism. Certainly a different recording, Jack Johnson has proven that he can do the same old thing and still make it new and exciting. He always creates outstanding albums that are thematic and cohesive, and "To The Sea" is just as awesome as all of his previous albums. As Jack grows, so do his fans, his music, and his messages. His latest is a testament to where he came from, where he is, and where he is going, and from start to finish he makes an incredible connection to his fans by bringing them along for a great ride.
