One December night, years ago, after a drink or two, Josh Ritter was animatedly enthusing about a song he had just finished, which told the tale of two scientists finding love in the midst of America’s atomic programme. This listener couldn’t quite stifle a giggle, which sneaked out, prompting an offended look from the singer. I couldn’t help it: the concept seemed about as unlikely as writing an epic adventure set in the world of financial auditing.
I was wrong. The song, ‘The Temptation Of Adam’, was one of the highlights of Ritter’s subsequent album, The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter, and cemented the Idaho native’s place in the canon of great modern American songwriters.
Today’s Josh Ritter isn’t the happy-go-lucky troubadour of those records, however. There has been plenty of emotional detritus washed under Ritter’s bridge since those carefree days, including a broken marriage, which gave rise to a beautiful if sometimes difficult-to-bear break-up album, 2013’s The Beast In Its Tracks. The innocence, it seems, is gone. But the talent burns as bright as ever.
Sermon On The Rocks may be the most straightforward country album of Ritter’s career, and should see him inally hitting the big leagues in the land of his birth. There’s an engaging warmth at the heart of songs like ‘Cumberland’ and ‘Henrietta, Indiana’, the former tipping its cap to Paul Simon’s ‘Me And Julio....’, the latter a stunning tale of economic hardship in a small town, told from the point of view of one family. Lead single and calling card ‘Getting Ready To Get Down’ is probably the catchiest number Ritter has ever penned, and has break-out hit written all over it.
While the sound may have its roots in Nashville, the album was actually recorded in New Orleans’ Parlor studio. It was produced by Ritter himself, along with Trina Shoemaker, whose track record veers from Queens of the Stone Age to Emmylou Harris. Featuring longtime bandmates Zach Hickman (bass) and Sam Kassirer (piano), the line-up also includes Josh Kaufman on guitar and Matt Barrick from The Walkmen on drums.
Despite the back-up crew’s rock pedigree, the most interesting and enduring songs on Sermon… are the most obviously country-tinged ones. They include the gorgeous ‘Where The Night Goes’ and the aching ‘The Stone’, in which the singer notes how, “Love will burn a hole through your human doubts”. The contemplative ‘Seeing Me Round’, meanwhile, finds the singer switching effortlessly from a sweet falsetto to a Cohen-esque baritone. Similarly, the truly magnificent ‘Homecoming’ ramps up the intensity, Ritter’s voice sounding more confident and mature than ever before. The electric ‘Birds Of the Meadow’ pulses with life and sexuality, and also boasts an impressive lyric filled with biblical imagery.
Gone is the innocence of ‘Kathleen’, replaced by an assured drawl that’s part broken-hearted lover, part flirtatious Lothario. Always an astute wordsmith, Josh Ritter Version 2.0 is more battle-hardened than heretofore: a little older, a little sadder and perhaps a little weary, but still capable of winning your heart.