Josh Ritter Announcement: So Runs The World Away

This morning, the official Josh Ritter website announced the title of his next album, the followup to the Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away. Along with the announcement was a free MP3 download for a track called Change Of Time. The new album is due out on May 4th in the United States, or if you live in Ireland, it will be out just a couple days before, on April 23th.

This is rather exciting news for me, as both The Animal Years and The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter were both two absolute favorites of mine over the past couple of years. The times that I have seen him in concert have likewise blown me away with his energy, songwriting and sound. The last concert that I saw, over at the University of Vermont, Ritter dropped a number of new songs into his set, and in all likelihood, these songs, Orbital and The Curse, will make it onto this record. (Especially The Curse, given the mummy artwork on his webpage).

What has impressed me the most thus far with the new songs that I have heard is the story. WIth his prior albums, Ritter has demonstrated an ability to tell a fantastic couple of stories, whether it's from the American West, life after a nuclear war, or a long distance romance, and the trend doesn't seem to have vanished with this album, which is most exciting. While the songs that I've heard thus far are a bit calmer than his usual fair, I'm really hoping that we'll get some more of his energy as well.

You can listen to the new track here, at Youtube or download the song by going here. To support the album, Ritter is going back out on tour between the US and Ireland:

April 24th - Galway, IRE
The Live Lounge at The Radisson Hotel

April 25th - Limerick, IRE
Dolans Warehouse

April 27th - Dublin, IRE
Grand Canal Theatre

April 29 – Belfast, N. IRE
Festival Marquee at CQAF
[ On-sale Feb 26th ]

April 30th - Kilkenny, IRE
Ormonde Hotel, Kilkenny (8.30pm)
Kilkenny Rythym & Roots festival

May 7th - Philadelphia, PA
Theater of Living Arts

May 8th - Washington, DC
9.30 Club

May 10th - Baltimore, MD
Ram's Head Live

May 11th - Durham, NC
Carolina Theatre

May 13th - Atlanta, GA
Variety Playhouse

May 15th - Chicago, IL
The Vic Theatre

May 19th - New York, NY
Town Hall


May 20th - New York, NY
Town Hall [SOLD OUT]

Lillian, Egypt - Josh Ritter
The Curse - Josh Ritter
Orbital - Josh Ritter

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Josh Ritter & The Low Anthem

Over the weekend, I caught an ad in the local paper, Seven Days, and found one of the more fantastic deals for a concert that I've seen in a while: Josh Ritter and the Low Anthem at the University of Vermont: $10. And, it was the next night. Purchasing a ticket was an absolute no-brainer, and on Friday night, I went up to Burlington to see Ritter for a second time.

The last show that I had seen from Josh Ritter and his band was in 2007, where he played with Vermont group Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on the Waterfront Park. It was a fantastic show, and Ritter was introduced in grand style. The Low Anthem was a band that I had yet to see, but one that I was familiar with - looking back over the archives here, I'm surprised that I haven't written about them yet.

Low Anthem opened for the show, and over the course of the show, I have to wonder if it's a brilliant concoction of a bipolar producer. The group opened quietly for a couple of songs, including a great rendition of Charlie Darwin, a high, ethereal, sounding song, before launching into several other numbers that where loud and fast - Home I'll Never Be, in particular, is one song that stood out from this style.

Low Anthem was good, but unpolished. Coming off of their first album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, released earlier this year, this isn't necessarily something that was unexpected, but their sound was almost too raw, too varied, and had a very limited stage presence. I'm not sure that I saw them open their eyes on stage (that might have been the lighting though), but they seemed shy, hesitant until they began to play. While this obviously doesn't impact the sound, I've always felt that concert performances are more than just the music - it's about the entire experience and performance of the evening, music plus the band on stage. Fortunately, in this instance, Low Anthem's music, energy and drive really made their act shine over their appearance.

Ritter, on the other hand, made the evening. From the start, Ritter practically jumped on stage, with a huge, boyish grin plastered on his face that didn't leave the entire time that he was on stage. This was one concert where I didn't take down a set list - I stood an enjoyed the show. The group played a wide range of songs, from some earlier albums, although mostly from The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter and The Animal Years, as well as a number of new songs from next year's upcoming album. Throughout the set were a number of my personal favorites: Snow Is Gone, Wolves, Girl In The War, Good Man, Kathleen, Lillian Egypt, Rumors, Mind's Eye and a number of others.

Ritter is one of the few artists that I absolutely love in person far more than I like studio recordings. When introducing his music to a friend recently, I told him to imagine the music about 10 % faster, and 90% louder, and you'll come up with an approximation to the intensity and mood of the evening. Ritter's group, all decked out in vests and ties, presented a polished, energetic and excited performance that will likely rank up on some of my favorite concert experiences.

For me, Josh Ritter's performance epitomizes what rock music should be: It's fun, loud and full of wild energy by a group that seems genuinely excited and thrilled to be doing what they're doing. It's an added bonus that the group is brimming with talent - song-writing, musical expertise and sound is unmatched. If the band is coming near you anytime in the next couple of years, do yourself a favor and check them out.

Brian Stowell has a fantastic set of photographs from the current, ongoing tour - I highly recommend checking them out!

Wolves - Josh Ritter

Lillian, Egypt - Josh Ritter

The Curse - Josh Ritter

Orbital - Josh Ritter

Right Moves - Josh Ritter

Snow Is Gone - Josh Ritter

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Long Time Coming, The Snow Is Gone

Welcome to spring! Today is the first day, and it is a paticularly welcome day here in Vermont after another long winter. The snow is going, the temperatures are going up (for the most part) and the birds are returning.

Snow Is Gone - Josh Ritter

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Photo from flickr

Friday Mix

It's been a very slow day, and I'm taking a break from homework. Here's five songs, picked at random for the weekend.

Grounds for Divorce - Elbow
Kids - Goodtimes Goodtimes
Feel So Free - Ivy
You In A Song - Jason Reeves
Kathleen - Josh Ritter

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Duet - Josh Ritter & Kathleen Edwards

There's something to be said for a really simple, calm song. The duet here is between two of my favorite alt-country/folk-rock singers, Josh Ritter and Kathleen Edwards. Both of these guys are really similar, and I've never really looked at them together at all. Both have their hard folk sound with their faster songs, but also have their softer side, as seen with this song.

Wanna go get high?
Mercury is parked outside
Wanna take me to
The parking lot of the old high school

And it's like you said
I would've turned up dead in the car

This is a fantastic duet between the two - Josh is mainly on supporting vocals here, but he has a nice presence here, and Kathleen has her own fantastic sound here.

Mercury (Kathleen Edwards) - Josh Ritter & Kathleen Edwards

And, a song that I couldn't resist putting up:

Kathleen - Josh Ritter

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Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are coming back to Vermont! The Higher Ground just announced another fall concert on the Waterfront (review for the first one here). Last year's concert was an amazing, amazing one, and if you live within a couple hundred miles of Vermont, this is a show that'll likely be well worth attending. The concert turned me to Josh Ritter and was a first date for a short relationship, so I look back on it with some good memories.

Give the first concert a listen here.

Pretty Good - Grace Potter & Josh Ritter

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Spring in Vermont

Finally, it's spring in Vermont. I can wear my sneakers, not scrape my windshield every morning and get to work without risking sliding off the road.
I heard this Josh Ritter song this morning on VPR, and it's been stuck in my head all day.

Snow is Gone (Live) - Josh Ritter

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