Jenny Ritter
Album: Bright Mainland
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 11
Website: http://jennyrittermusic.blogspot.co.uk/

Whilst "Bright Mainland" is singer-songwriter and artist, check out the album cover, Jenny Ritter's debut solo album, she brings a wealth of experience gathered in bands like Nicely Nicely, Scandinavian trad trio, Marmota, choir Kingsgate Choral and most notably country roots band, The Gruff into it, as well as a number of musicians and singers from those various combos.

Outside of her day job, Ritter is also in demand as the guitarist to a whole host of Canadian West Coast fiddle players such as Daniel Lapp and Mairi Rankin, she's a girl that likes to keep busy indulging herself in both her own and other people's music.

The dominant sound to the album is Americana, or should that be Canadiana, as the stories contained within the songs definitely have more of a north of the border narrative. That said it's also almost impossible to deny the Celtic influences on "Bright Mainland" as well.

Jenny Ritter comes across as a really positive individual, one that enjoys just living and being a part of life "We Must Sing" contains the line "We must sing to forget about it and we must sing to remember it" and you really to get the feeling that Ritter believes in the therapeutic power of songs, that she's living that ideal, it's not just a mere concept.

Ritter strikes me as someone that is absorbed by music wherever she finds it, in the natural song of birds as much as, say, the social environment of a choir, both whilst actually singing and socialising around it.

"Bright Mainland" is a very positive album, but not one that is trapped by fake sentimentality. It takes the good with the bad, picks its self up and takes us on a real journey. Jenny Ritter is a great songwriter and it's good to see her name on the tin.

Neil King