Raised by Wolves

Bright Mainland was the 2013 solo debut from this Canadian singer and songwriter, following many years of playing accordion for the band Nicely, Nicely and then as guitarist and songwriter for critically acclaimed roots country band The Gruff. Nevertheless, its strength as a set of sweet yet muscular and memorable tunes came a very pleasant surprise to those of us partial to the particular strain of Americana music that seems to be especially strong in Canada: in which the bite of the banjo lives quite happily alongside the anthemic sweep of the best indie-rock. Raised by Wolves may be even better.

Ritter's songs seem to come from a strange, mythical place in the deep dark woods, where the fiddle plays, the steel guitar howls and the wolves run. With a set of sly, elegantly mysterious, even scary lyrics – especially on ‘Wolf Wife’. With just a lucky break or two, perhaps a placing on a hip TV show, this album could easily become a crossover hit and a career-making collection.