“Lyle Lovett found his space and works it to this day. He’s done so with ample style, but never lets form follow function. To listen to Joshua Judges Ruth is to hear the stories as the stars. He has cannily cast himself as the narrator, with eyes that dart, commentary that cuts and a nod of recognition to those attuned to his type of storytelling, in which moments of levity sometimes distract from a deeper gravity that always reveals itself. He defined, then refined, this form of expression. Joshua Judges Ruth isn’t the sound of a musician offering a dare, but rather an artist betting on himself: Four years after ‘Here I Am,’ with this album, he appears to be saying ‘Here I Am.’”