Already touted as the next big thing, this 26-year-old Idaho native retains the folk-country purr of first album Golden Age Of Radio, and there's an obvious debt to Dylan in the subtle phrasing. Mostly set to quietly rolling acoustic guitar—with Sam Kassirer's Hammond adding an Al Kooper-like undertow—Hello Starling casts Ritter in the same wry glow as early Jackson Browne or James Taylor. Celtic ballad "Kathleen" proves he's fully assimilated the traditional, and the lovely "Wings" was recently covered by Joan Baez.
There's something novel about this concept: the soundtrack of a book. While the realistic word for it is probably "cross-marketing", the hapless dreamers among us can ponder: are we supposed to listen to the relevant song while reading Hornby's chapter on it? Even if we don't possess posh headphones like the pretty model on the sleeve (entirely inappropriate unless the album is also a bottle of conditioner), are we to aim for a music-literature 'synergy' experience? I've just tried skimming Little Dorrit while headbanging to lggy and, frankly, it doesn't work.
