Acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Josh Ritter’s new song, “I Still Love You (Now and Then),” debuts today; listen/share it here. The track will appear on Ritter’s tenth studio album, Fever Breaks, which is set for release on April 26 via Pytheas Recordings/Thirty Tigers. Produced by Grammy Award-winning musician Jason Isbell, the 10-track album was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A and features Isbell’s band, the 400 Unit.
Ritter’s previously released track, “Old Black Magic,” hit #1 on the Americana Radio “Singles Chart” and received widespread critical praise—Rolling Stone declares, “Finding the sweet spot between the introspective lyricism of Ritter’s previous efforts and the swaggering Southern rock of the 400 Unit, ‘Old Black Magic’ blends the artists’ talents to dizzying effect. Crunchy guitars and a driving rhythm section lend a smoldering drama to Ritter’s gritty voice, underscoring the mystery and longing at the heart of the lyric,” while NPR’s World Café adds, “The combination of Ritter and The 400 Unit is magical. There is a sense of drama that give the lyrics an extra dose of power that hasn't been heard in previous recordings. Considering the turbulent times this music was created during, the music is elevated, giving Ritter an even stronger voice while taking his career and music to a whole new level.”
Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with additional recording and mixing at Sound Emporium, the record was engineered by Matt Ross-Spang and features contributions from Isbell (guitar and vocals) and his band the 400 Unit, which includes Derry Deborja (piano, organ and Hohner accordion), Chad Gamble (drums and percussion), Jimbo Hart (fender electric, ukulele and upright bass), Sadler Vaden (electric guitar, acoustic guitar and 12 string acoustic guitar) and Amanda Shires (violin and vocals).
Of the album, Ritter shares with Rolling Stone, “The songs are very reflective of the times in which they were written,” he explains. “As we started coming together and playing, the songs that felt like they were gonna work really jumped out as obvious. From there on, after we recorded in August [2018] we had this really nice time to stop and listen and let the songs marinate a little bit. In that time, the world has just become even crazier. There’s a lot of the record that feels reflective of the moment it was in.”
Over the course of his career Ritter has released ten full-length albums including 2017’s Gathering, which debuted at #4 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart and received widespread critical praise. NPR Music proclaims, “Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He’d be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer,” while the HuffPost adds, “Gathering is beautiful and precise, and most of the beauty, to be certain, arises from a prolonged, often intimate contemplation of Ritter’s enormous skill set as an honest bard.” In 2015 Ritter began a close collaboration with Bob Weir and went on to write or co-write many of the 12 songs on Weir’s acclaimed 2016 solo album, Blue Mountain. Pitchfork called the album “quietly adventurous, wise, and a welcome late-career turn,” while Entertainment Weekly described it as “a moving group of tunes worthy of any campfire.”
In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter made his debut as a published author in 2011 with his New York Times best-selling novel Bright’s Passage (Dial Press/Random House). Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Bright’s Passage “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.”
FEVER BREAKS TRACKLIST
1. Ground Don’t Want Me
2. Old Black Magic
3. On The Water
4. I Still Love You (Now and Then)
5. The Torch Committee
6. Silverblade
7. All Some Kind of Dream
8. Losing Battles
9. A New Man
10. Blazing Highway Home
