By Katelyn Harrop
Entertainment Editor

Josh Ritter’s new album, “The Beast in Its Tracks,” is a lyrical masterpiece, harkening
back to the quality of writing exemplified in “The Historical Conquest of Josh Ritter,”
but woven with a level of emotion unheard of in any of Ritter’s previous creations.

The Idaho-born artist is also an accomplished author; his fantasy novel, “Bright
Passages,” earned a strong fallowing; he is a recognized guitarist; and was
mentioned on Paste magazine’s “100 Greatest Living Songwriters” list. Ritter has
never been accused of being anything other than well rounded, but “The Beast in Its
Tracks” adds an additional level of complexity to the artist’s portfolio.

The album fallows Ritter’s recent divorce from musician Dawn Landes in a
simplistic and often acoustic way that is uncharacteristic of Ritter’s work, which
is usually supported by a strong band complete with the occasional horns section.
It feels as if the album chronicles Ritter’s healing, with the instrumental section
stepping to the side to allow him to mourn privately, but ready to reenter when he
feels ready to be accompanied once again.

The lyrics of the first two tracks, “Third Arm” and “Evil Eye” are torn with anguish,
longing, and passive-aggressive bitterness. Even in the third track, “Certain Light,”
which discusses a new lover, the lyrics still aches of lingering past feelings. The
chorus reads: “And she only looks like you in a certain kind of light/ when she
holders her head just right,” but go on to discuss Ritter’s newfound happiness.

By the time the album reaches “Joy to You Baby”, the lyrics turn to gracious and well
meaning, and when he sings out, “joy to the city/ joy to the streets/joy to you,baby/
and joy to me too,” the listener can heave a sigh of relief, knowing that their favorite
singer-songwriter is going to be okay.

“The Beast In Its Tracks” is unlike anything that Josh Ritter has ever released. His
past albums have been dominated by fictitious stories and narratives combined
with deep metaphors and imagery. But this album is raw and beautifully simplistic
without sacrificing Ritter’s strong poetic abilities.

Give this album a listen, as well as the rest of Josh Ritter’s works ff you enjoy Joe
Pug, The Avett Brothers, Gregory Alan Isakov or The Decemberists.