Independent US singer/songwriter Rita Hosking could be loosely classed in the ‘vintage country revival’ school of Americana writers and performers such as Gillian Welch, Diana Jones or Iris Dement, and she more than deserves to be mentioned in the same class as these illustrious artists as ‘Come Sunrise’ is a powerful and memorable piece of American Folk Music.
But where, to my ears, Welch and Dement in particular were at times a little too idiosyncratic to relax and enjoy at length, Rita has found a great balance between being a distinct voice and being accessible – all eleven songs here are beautifully arranged, full of instrumental colour and melodies but they still have an edge that gives them an authentic feel.

Much of the feel of the album is down to producer Rich Brotherton (Caroline Herring, Robert Earl Keen) who provides a good range of the instrumentation, alongside some of Austin’s finest players providing support across the album, but most of all he lets Rita’s vocals take centre stage.
It's the right decision as her vocals are superb throughout, she sings with a raw, unfussy and powerful manner that the delivers a unique mixture of styles that could place the album anywhere from Austin to the Appalachians.

The eleven tracks on ‘Come Sunrise’ range from the beefy and driving ‘Upside Down’ through to the beautiful and fragile ‘Hiding Place’, with songs picking up all points in between. The impressive point is that every track feels like an organic element, and a natural extension of American folk music, but without ever feeling contrived or forced.

There are tales of people’s lives and struggles, veiled political points and plenty of characters to sink your teeth into here, and many songs that reveal their subtleties on repeated listens.
Most of all, Rita feels like an authentic American folk artist, it’s as far removed from the commercial output of the majors as you could wish it to be, and the mixture of historic elements of country and folk come together in this fantastic album that represents a recent high watermark in the genre. Unmissable.

Track listing
1 Let'em Run
2 Come Sunrise
3 Montgomery Creek Blues
4 Promise Land
5 Precious Little
6 Hiding Place
7 Little Joe
8 Holier Than Thou
9 She's Waiting
10 Upside Town
11 I'm Going Home

£12.99 signed copies