Empire Builders

New Beats.com
Don't accuse Jason Ringenberg of not being totally forthright when it comes to his lyrics. This long-standing alt country troubadour is not shy about expressing his feelings whether it is about America's position in the world, guitar heroes, or his dad. Yet those seemingly different topics make up his latest effort Empire Builders, a politically-sensitive record and sort of tribute the people past and present that made this nation great and represent the human spirit. In Ringenberg, you are not going to find many artists who can speak up for America even when everybody else in the world is down on us and yet having the balls to question our motives too (the tribal beat of "American Question"), or heroic black pilots ("Tuskegee Pride"), or six string legend "Link Wray" (the rocking song of the same name). Rigenberg's sometimes rambunctious roots music and twangy vocal style is offset by some thoughtful reflective tracks like on "She Hung the Moon," the father tribute in "Half the Man," and "Chief Joseph's Lost Dream." Arguably Empire Builders is both a bold statement on symbolic pride and tribute to human perseverance and dignity.

David Chiu