Josh Ritter shares two new songs from upcoming album Spectral Lines

Renowned singer-songwriter, musician, artist and best-selling author Josh Ritter has announced his brand new album Spectral Lines with two singles.

The project will arrive on April 28th via Thirty Tigers. In advance of the release, two album tracks are debuting today: “Sawgrass” and “For Your Soul.”

In celebration of the new record, Ritter will return to the road - with Irish dates expected to be announced soon.

Produced by Ritter’s long-time collaborator Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim), Spectral Lines finds Ritter expanding beyond the bounds of his previous work to create a record both atmospheric and profound.

Watch a video for both songs was created by flatspot and filmed in Alaska and Brooklyn.

“I think it’s important for us to share some of our most basic and common experiences with each other, however we can," Josh Ritter said in a press release. "That’s what we really, really need right now. I know we have common experiences, and it’s important to telegraph those back because they don’t have to be lonely experiences."

Dedicated to the memory of his mother, Ritter searches for commonality across these ten seamless tracks by exploring life’s most universal ideas—love, devotion and what it means to be connected, to both each other and to ourselves.

In addition to Ritter (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar) and Sam Kassirer (piano, organ, mellotron, synthesizers, drums), Spectral Lines also features Jocie Adams (clarinet, synthesizers, background vocals), Matt Douglas (woodwinds), Zachariah Hickman (upright bass, electric bass), Rich Hinman (electric guitar, pedal steel), Shane Leonard (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass), Kevin O’Connell (drums, percussion, electric bass, electric guitar) and Dietrich Strause (acoustic guitar, electric guitar).

Album artwork.

One of today’s most thoughtful and prolific voices, Ritter has released ten studio albums including 2019’s widely acclaimed, Fever Breaks. In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter is also a national best-selling author, having released two novels to date: 2011’s Bright’s Passage and 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, for which the film rights have recently been optioned for development.

At the age of 21, Ritter recorded his self-titled debut album at a recording studio on Oberlin College, Ohio's campus. Following his graduation from Oberlin, Ritter moved to Scotland, where he attended the School of Scottish Studies for six months. From there, he moved to Providence, Rhode Island, working odd jobs and playing open mics in Boston. It was at one such open mic that he met Irish musician Glen Hansard, who invited Ritter to Ireland as an opening act for his band, The Frames.

Ritter's third record, Hello Starling, produced by former Frames guitarist Dave Odlum, debuted at No. 2 on the Irish charts. Ritter claims to have not realised the success of the Irish performances until stopping for a drink between cities and hearing the local band play a set covering his songs, something he was told they did frequently.

Pre-order Spectral Line here.

Tracklist:

Sawgrass
Honey I Do
Horse No Rider
For Your Soul
Black Crown
Strong Swimmer
Whatever Burns Will Burn
Any Way They Come
In Fields
Someday