Pitchfork

Admit it, you thought Josh Ritter was the son of late actor John Ritter, didn't you? I did, and I was prepared not to like him on principal. No disrespect to John Ritter, I loved to hate him as Ben's alcoholic dad on "Felicity" (oh, how I miss you, Felicity!), but let's be honest: the children of the famous have to work extra hard to impress us.

Well, unfurrow those skeptical brows, because Josh Ritter is no Nicole Ritchie. He's just a singer-songwriter from Idaho who's releasing his fourth LP, The Animal Years, on April 11, and his parents were never on TV just like ours weren't, so he's all right.

The new record finds Ritter working with producer and former Red Red Meat/Califone member Brian Deck, who was behind the boards for Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antactica, Iron & Wine's Our Endless Numbered Days, and other faves. Drawing inspiration from literature and history, Ritter describes The Animal Years as "an escape from the present" and compares it to "a silent film - a mysterious old movie reel unearthed somewhere - about America today."

The Silent Film: Now With Sound! And Without Pictures!:

01 Girl in the War
02 Wolves
03 Monster Ballads
04 Lillian Egypt
05 Idaho
06 In the Dark
07 One More Mouth
08 Good Man
09 Best for the Best
10 Thin Blue Flame
11 Here at the Right Time

Ritter kicks off a tour next week in Canada, and then meets up with NYC's Hem for the U.S. leg of the tour, before heading off to the U.K. for several dates. (He's huge in Ireland! Really!) After his British Invasion, he'll tour Europe and then return to the U.S. for some West Coast shows.

Come and knock on my door:

04-06 Kingston, Ontario - The Elixir
04-07 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret
04-08 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
04-10 Wakefield, Quebec - Black Sheep Inn
04-11 Halifax, Nova Scotia - Stage Nine
04-13 Clinton, NY - Hamilton College
04-19 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom *
04-20 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
04-21 Chicago, IL - Double Door *
04-22 Indianapolis, IN - Birdy's *
04-23 Newport, KY - Southgate House *
04-25 Annapolis, MD - Ram's Head *
04-26 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere *
04-27 Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live *
04-28 Fall River, MA - Narrows Arts Center *
04-29 Boston, MA - Avalon *
05-02 New York, NY - Tribeca Film Festival
05-03 New York, NY - Tribeca Film Festival
05-04 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
05-05 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
05-06 Shelburne Falls, MA - Memorial Hall *
05-09 Birmingham, England - Glee Club
05-10 Manchester, England - Academy 2
05-12 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
05-13 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
05-14 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Empire
05-15 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor
05-17 Bristol, England - Fiddler's
05-18 Brighton, England - Gardener Centre
05-19 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
05-20 Paris, France - Café de la Danse
05-23 Cologne, Germany - MTC
05-24 Berlin, Germany - Club 103
05-26 Copenhagen, Denmark - Little Vega
05-27 Stockholm, Sweden - Berns
05-28 Oslo, Norway - Bla
05-29 Hamburg, Germany - Stage Club
05-30 Brussels, Belgium - AB Box
05-31 Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Paradiso
06-03 Seattle, WA - Triple Door #
06-04 Seattle, WA - Triple Door #
06-05 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge #
06-07 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall #
06-09 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre #
06-10 San Diego, CA - The Casbah #

* with Hem
# with Richard Swift

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