Rita B - With Pockets Nearly Empty and A Glass Almost Full

Rita B

With Pockets Nearly Empty and A Glass Almost Full
self-released; 2017

​4.3 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By Rebecca Rothschild

Rita B, Rita B, here is a woman with something to say, LOTS of it actually with her new album’s title alone With Pockets Nearly Empty And A Glass Almost Full. She’s got an innocent folk rock vibe that comes with her music and everything is all peaches and cream until she opens her mouth and unapologetically dishes it out to everyone and everything including herself. The odds of me having the chance to meet this woman are remote at the moment being she is in Sydney and I am Chicago, but I LOVE this woman. I wanna be best friends, I wanna hang out and do sleepovers. I know I’m coming off creepy, but that’s how cool she comes off in her work. This album is all things ironic, cheeky and very real. Buckle up.

​The music is good, it is by no means the star of the show, but you get a good mix done by clearly professional musicians. You get whimsy, a little alt rock and lots of folk notes. It’s often understated and structurally flexible to really allow her to get into her stories. She is known to do solo work but she can also roll with a band. When in the company of her band on this album you can tell they really understand her, her cadence and her mission. I really enjoy the talented Ella Carstein who not only brings her harmonic vocal talent but also lends her violin skills which are lovely.

The breadwinner is all in the lyrics and the fantastically blunt delivery. There’s no shortage of “F” bombs, which is often a word I use to punctuate sentences so she’ll have no complaints from me. There are times where she attempts to justify her self-destructive behavior, been there, done that. At other points she concludes she doesn’t need to justify herself to anyone, once again, been in those shoes.

She is very comfortable with contradictions and hypocrisies that almost every human being commits. You have to admire someone willing to own to it. Hopefully it will encourage others to do the same. On top of everything else her voice is beautiful. While a good deal of her delivery is very conversational and at some points feels almost like spoken word poetry, the lady can sing. Her range is perfect for the genres she gravitates towards.

I feel like this album is a good dose of medicine for anyone. It is so relatable, funny and just downright entertaining. It is the perfect blend of sweet and savage and while it has a powerful feminine energy in it, I see no reason the songs couldn’t translate across any gender or creed. At one point or another you’ll hear something that can hit home for anyone. If I ever make my way to Sydney or should Rita B ever find herself stateside it will take great lengths to stop me from trying to see this lady in action live. Congratulations to Rita B on this fabulous album and congratulations to her for gaining a new, creepy fan.

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