Events

[POP] In a world where synthetically crafted vocals and novelty songs with lazy, wordless choruses rule the airwaves, Josh Ritter is entirely too talented to be a pop star. But he continues making the best of his cult status with last year’s Sermon on the Rocks (Pytheas/Thirty Tigers). Striking a balance between his ingenious gift for wordplay and a fierce rhythmic sense, the soundtrack to Ritter’s Sermon is as catchy as it is smart. Comparisons to Dylan, Springsteen, and even Tom Waits have followed him around since the beginning, and while that’s all flattering from a narrative angle, Ritter is better at carrying a tune than anyone in the aforementioned triumvirate (something that’s abundantly clear throughout Sermon, which quickly becomes addictive listening). Having launched a secondary career as a novelist with 2011’s Bright’s Passage, which Stephen King raved about in a New York Times review (King has also championed his music), Ritter’s latest musical offering feels freed-up, bouncing buoyantly between tracks that he narrates like some sort of streetwise documentary. See what the fuss is about when he plays the Tralf Music Hall with his Royal City Band on Wednesday, July 20. Alternate Routes open.