Album Review: Josh Ritter, I Believe In You, My Honeydew

Josh Ritter’s 13th album, and his third in as many years, finds the 48-year-old  artist reassessing his relationship with his ‘Muse’, which he once believed had “passed on… with the decades”.

For his latest batch of songs, he addresses the Muse directly – naming it ‘My Honeydew’ – rather than waiting for it to provide divine inspiration. The result is a sweet, gentle album, where the songs are conjured from quiet and meditative places, and where Ritter’s songwriting never seems rushed.

The acoustic chords on standout ‘I’m Listening’ are warm, rich and consoling, in exactly the way Americana should be. Another highlight is ‘Wild Ways’, a rousing, gospel-meets-country song about the artist re-dedicating his life to finding his “higher calling” (it’s deliberately ambiguous as to whether the “higher calling” is a poetic Muse or a real-life significant other).

‘Thunderbird’ is also a wonderfully contemplative country song with pleasing slide guitar. The concluding ‘The Wreckage Of One Vision Of You’ and ‘The Throne’, meanwhile, are liquor-soaked closing-time anthems – making for a powerful finale.

7/10