Title: Little Boat
Artist: Hosking, Rita
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 755491605226
Genre: Folk

There's a magical moment in every songwriter's life where they discover that turning inwards to create their music and looking close to home for inspiration can make for truly powerful music. California songwriter Rita Hosking's new album, Little Boat, is a perfect example of this ethos. It's a stripped-back affair, a chance for her to focus intently on the craft of making songs, and also a chance for her to draw closer to her family. With her 18-year old daughter Kora now writing songs with her, and playing beautiful clawhammer banjo as well, and with her husband Sean joining her on vocal harmonies and bringing a remarkably subtle talent for dobro accompaniment, this album became a family affair for Hosking. Drawing closer to her family meant that she also drew closer to her songs, and because of this her music has never seemed warmer or more intimate. Little Boat was recorded in late 2012 over four days in Austin, Texas at the home studio of producer Rich Brotherton-who also produced Rita's last two records, Burn ('11) and Come Sunrise ('09), both of which went on to win awards and accolades from the US and abroad. Some of the songs on Little Boat are inspired by Rita's recent life travels-"Blow Northwest Wind" comes from family summers spent on an island at the top of the Great Lakes in Ontario, Canada; "Where Time is Reigning" was inspired by Rita's family trip to the Griffith Observatory's planetarium in Los Angeles- while others come from Rita's observations on life in today's hectic world. "Clean" was inspired by her experience working as a housecleaner, and "Sierra Bound" was inspired by a scientist friend and her family's roots in the foothills of this Northern California mountain range. The album's standout song, "Parting Glass," is an intimate, loving, but urgent reminder of mortality shared with Rita's husband Sean on moving dobro and harmonies. Throughout the album, Rita stakes her claim as a songwriter uncommonly attuned to the rhythms of everyday life, and able to draw inspiring moments from her life, her relationships, and her time in nature. Though Hosking's voice can hover just over the cracked twang of a country singer, she also sings with the full reverberations of a true folk singer, letting her rich vocals guide the album. With help from her family and producer Rich Brotherton, her voice settles over a landscape of beautiful acoustic instrumentation, recalling her love for American roots music. It's the kind of album that draws you in ever closer with each listen, looking for your own experience and your own life in each song. -Devon Leger, Hearth Music.

Tracks:
1.1 Parting Glass
1.2 Where Time Is Reigning
1.3 Sierra Bound
1.4 Clean
1.5 Nothing Left of Me
1.6 Blow Northwest Wind
1.7 Five Star Location

Audio Sample:
All soundclips are provided by Tidal and are for illustrative purposes only. For some releases, the tracks listed may not accurately represent the tracks on the physical release.