Ross Thorn - Fitting In (2025) Hi-Res

Taking a page from the humorous side of the late John Hartford (“Boogie” & “Bye Bye”), Ross Thorn is maintaining a musical style from a bygone day, & does it quite admirably. Lots of entertainment value in this music. Some lean into a child-like flavor but not childish. Many songs are painted with banjo & fiddle (typical John Hartford) & what’s really like Hartford is Thorn’s enthusiastic & friendly voice. You can only achieve that by smiling while you sing. Ross must be a happy guy whether he’s picking on a back porch with a bloodhound at his feet or on stage under spotlights.

Some tunes hover close to novelty, but when novelty is done well, it can be a fun listen. Not everything has to be serious & with some deep moral lesson. Ross’s “Pick-a-Dee-Day” is almost structured like a Woody Guthrie children’s song. Silly words can make a song melodic & memorable. Years ago, I loved a rock song called “Aye-Aye-Poe-Day” on a self-titled ABC-Probe album by an obscure singer-songwriter, St. Steven. But I couldn’t get that tune out of my head for weeks.

So, here innocently enough are 10 tunes on Ross’ sophomore Fitting In. Produced by Mr. Thorn (lead vocals/banjo/acoustic guitar) & Clark Singleton (bass/aux percussion) & recorded in Cannon Falls, Minnesota & at home in Duluth, MN.

There are plenty of songs children will find funny & probably want to learn to sing-along with. At no time does Ross become silly, despite having his tongue firmly in cheek at times, or kitschy. He’s constructed some well-crafted humorous tunes & he doesn’t take it seriously, though he does perform these with seriousness. “Midwestern Goodbye” is a beautiful, simple ballad. I could easily hear the late John Denver cover a song like this, right down to the whistling.

To keep things fresh, Ross relinquishes the lead vocals to the youthful, fragile, expressive brilliance of The Spine Stealers (Kate Ruland & Emma O’Shea vocals) on “Far Away.” A beautiful ballad with banjo dominance & their coherent voices. Traditional sounding in an Iris De Ment style.
Some tunes bend in a gospel type arrangement with warm harmonics, with the ever-present banjo & always keeping the Americana quietly atmospheric. Thorn’s title track, “Fitting In,” is the finale. A well-crafted serious ballad. “In a world full of angels, I’m full of sin.” A strong, appropriate conclusion sung lackadaisically, reflective & sorry. But it’s not a depressing voice or melancholy, but a voice determined to…fit in.