Media2 Ublications.com Interweave Bw Febmar 2011

An American singer/songwriter with a deep, expressive voice, a keen wit, and an evocative way with words, Josh Ritter has built a loyal following as one of the leading lights on the Americana scene with his incisive songwriting. Emerging in 2000 with his eponymous debut album, Ritter hit his stride in 2007 with the release of The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, which introduced elements of rock, country, and blues into the mix. What followed was a string of acclaimed outings like Beast in Its Tracks (2013), Gathering (2017), and Fever Breaks (2019) that continued to push the boundaries of folk and Americana, furthering Ritter's ascension to modern singer/songwriter royalty.

Baroque cellist Tanya Tomkins makes an indelible impression with her virtuosic recording of J S Bach’s Cello Suites. Tanya Tomkins, one of the foremost cellists of her generation, makes an indelible impression scaling the pinnacle of the cello repertoire, J S Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Familiar to record collectors through her appearance on Avie’s release of Kummer’s Cello Duets, and as a member of the Benvenue Fortepiano Trio’s Mendelssohn and Schumann recordings, Tanya is equally at home in an intimate house concert setting or anchoring the cello section of the San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

Serving as both accomplished career overview and a live-in-the-studio effort that covers two and a half hours and over 40 years of work, Trainsong is a seemingly effortless release, such is the apparent delicacy and grace of Michael Chapman's performing throughout. As Charles Shaar Murray's combatively entertaining liner notes acknowledge, Chapman couldn't play at least one favored piece due to a recent injury. What is on offer, however, is the kind of reflective, elegant playing on both acoustic and electric guitar one would expect from any instrumentalist after decades of experience. From the start, the tender flow of notes on "The Last Polish Breakfast," almost a portrait of sunrise on sparkling water, Chapman seems to be both celebrating his past and claiming a space in the present.

The most traditional pop band of all the Welsh bands to emerge in the post-Brit-pop days of the mid-'90s, Catatonia reworked the sound of jangling late-'80s alternative rock with a punchy, amateurish indie rock attack. Comprised of vocalist Cerys Matthews, guitarist/vocalist Mark Roberts, guitarist Owen, bassist Paul Jones, and drummer Aled Richards, Catatonia formed in Cardiff, Wales in the early '90s. Matthews and Roberts used to busk together in Cardiff before officially forming the band.

An American singer/songwriter with a deep, expressive voice, a keen wit, and an evocative way with words, Josh Ritter has built a loyal following as one of the leading lights on the Americana scene with his incisive songwriting. Emerging in 2000 with his eponymous debut album, Ritter hit his stride in 2007 with the release of The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, which introduced elements of rock, country, and blues into the mix. What followed was a string of acclaimed outings like Beast in Its Tracks (2013), Gathering (2017), and Fever Breaks (2019) that continued to push the boundaries of folk and Americana, furthering Ritter's ascension to modern singer/songwriter royalty.

Idaho-bred singer/songwriter Josh Ritter's V2 Records debut follows in the footsteps of 2003's Hello Starling only in instrumentation. While he retains his literate tongue and expressive voice, there is far less humor on Animal Years than on his previous two outings. Producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse) keeps Animal Years intimate but transient, like a circus train crawling through a small town on a busy Saturday afternoon. Essentially built around two startlingly affecting diatribes on the war in Iraq, Ritter utilizes the voices of Peter and Paul, as well as Laurel & Hardy, to eke some kind of explanation from both the Administration and the Creator.

An American singer/songwriter with a deep, expressive voice, a keen wit, and an evocative way with words, Josh Ritter has built a loyal following as one of the leading lights on the Americana scene with his incisive songwriting. Emerging in 2000 with his eponymous debut album, Ritter hit his stride in 2007 with the release of The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, which introduced elements of rock, country, and blues into the mix. What followed was a string of acclaimed outings like Beast in Its Tracks (2013), Gathering (2017), and Fever Breaks (2019) that continued to push the boundaries of folk and Americana, furthering Ritter's ascension to modern singer/songwriter royalty.

Legendary Swedish heavy-progressive band who released 6 albums between 1974 and 1992 (plus a retrospective in 1996) and reunited and released a couple of new albums from 2004 and on. However, the only addition to the normal guitar, bass and drums instrumentation is some mellotron here and there. It's musical excellence with plenty of extended gratuitous guitar jams and very intricate lyrics. In several ways, Trettioåriga Kriget ("The 30-year War" in English) can be compare to Änglagård and Landberk to sense their influence. The first, self-titled is in many ways like Rush circa 1980. "Krigssång" is an album that fans of 70's rock in general will enjoy, and not just progressive rock listeners. In sum, this is one of the defining Scandinavian prog albums. The first two albums are necessary for any serious exploration of the region. The albums released after the reunion show that the band hasn't lost their touch!

Idaho-bred singer/songwriter Josh Ritter's V2 Records debut follows in the footsteps of 2003's Hello Starling only in instrumentation. While he retains his literate tongue and expressive voice, there is far less humor on Animal Years than on his previous two outings. Producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse) keeps Animal Years intimate but transient, like a circus train crawling through a small town on a busy Saturday afternoon. Essentially built around two startlingly affecting diatribes on the war in Iraq, Ritter utilizes the voices of Peter and Paul, as well as Laurel & Hardy, to eke some kind of explanation from both the Administration and the Creator.