Music Style Alternative/Indie/Rock

Similar Artists Mary's Danish. You'll like this if you like: Pretenders, Tori Amos, Sleater-Kinney, Bjork, Janis Joplin, Mazzy Star, Patti Smith, Buzzcocks, Beatles, PJ Harvey, Garbage, Ani DiFranco, Sarah McLachlan

Artist History Julie Ritter was one of the lead singers of the band Mary's Danish. Her new album, Songs of Love and Empire is her solo debut. If you liked Mary's Danish, you'll love these songs. If you didn't like Mary's Danish, you'll love these songs.

Instruments vocals, guitar, piano, bass, accordion, melodica, drums

Albums Songs of Love & Empire, Medicine Show, there goes the wondertruck (with Mary's Danish), Live+Experience (with Mary's Danish), Circa (with Mary's Danish), American Standard (with Mary's Danish)

Press Reviews On Songs of Love and Empire, former Mary's Danish vocalist Julie Ritter puts to shame 90 percent of the major label releases with the best album you haven't heard this year. Ritter's first solo album of songs (she did release a spoken-word recording of her poetry a few years ago) is confident, mature, diverse, and, oh, so enticing. Ritter returns to the hard-hitting alterna-pop of her Mary's Danish days on the opening track,"Bed," as well as on "Aeroplane," a song that with a major-label push would be on your favoriteradio station constantly. Songs … goes well beyond her Mary's work, though. "Cry Baby Cry" and, in particular, "Play My Favorite Song," feature slow, grinding blues vocals sultry enough to heat up a monk. Arguably the album's finest track is the piano-based story, "Jesus of New York." Ritter shows off her narrative skills, as well as her lovely, lilting vocals, on the seductive tale of a one-night stand. As a whole, 1999 was a fairly dismal year for music, with adult listeners being bombarded with teenage bubble-gum pop and the same one-note testosterone rock. However, Songs of Love and Empire offers a more than worthwhile alternative to the monotony of this year in music. Steve Baltin, Sr. Editor, CDNOWI love records like this. You know, the kind of disc that just blows you away like out of nowhere. The kind of disc you would play 4 songs from in 3 hours if you had a radio show. Released on a small label called Luxstar, Ms. Ritter's (ex-Mary's Danish) first solo record is a lo fi gem, a weird blend of Mazzy Star meets Patty Smith if she lived in Hollywood. From the riveting electric opener "Bed" through the phased out bliss of "Gone" to the closing notes of "and what were roses,” Ritter delivers some of the best tortured songscapes in recent memory. I'm serious about this one gang...Buy "songs of love and empire" now! Note: This record may be somewhat hard to find, if you can't find it here on the ubl, check out her site. ****1/2-Chris Carter UBLJust got Julie Ritter's "songs of love and empire' yesterday and it is some of the best rock/blues-rock I have heard in a long time. She sort of sounds like early Chrissie Hynde but with more of PJ Harvey's blues sense. Very good so far and she does a great version of "Cry Baby Cry" from the Beatles White Album, a little more bluesy in the vocals than the original with even a trumpet interlude on the right channel for a late night jazz feel.

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).