Brooks Ritter might be the next Louisville troubadour we gravitate toward. The Horse Fell Lame is a mellow debut where nothing is off limits: Love, loss, politics and spirituality are fair game for Ritter’s tenor to wrap itself around and clutch. Sometimes those topics aren’t mutually exclusive and are broached all at once (“Bones from the Ground”).
As arrangements go, it’s sparse, with the usual singer/songwriter accoutrements present: acoustic guitar, snaps, lightly tapped drums, piano, etc., all run consistently throughout the album. Nothing breaks convention here, but Ritter uses everything wisely to accentuate his voice and lyrics. —Brent Owen
