The Animal Years

7/10. At its best, it reminded me a bit of America (the band), at its worst, it reminded me of the mass of pleasant but nigh-indistinguishable indie-folk of the last two decades.

Thin Blue Flame is epic, bona fide. The rest of Animal Years's conceit is sneakier, an approach to America which works reliably from inside or out. Instruments varied and old and new work through the tapestry of the songs, never artificial but significantly less enigmatic than Ritter's word choice.