In 2013, Josh Ritter broke away from his usual poetic, professor-friendly folk music to make a deeply personal divorce album, "The Beast in Tracks." He traded his grin and investigative lyrics for a somber collection of songs which feel like he’s reaching out for a comforting hug from his fans. It wasn’t necessarily a fan favorite, but an important piece of art for a man working through a difficult time.
On "Sermon on the Rocks," Josh is happy again, bringing forth one of the best works of his eight-album career. Beginning with the millenarian opening track “Birds of the Meadow,” Ritter sings as a prophet warning of the upcoming apocalypse. From here, it is clear that Ritter is expanding his sound, going for a darker, heavier aesthetic rather than his typical Paul Simon, soft-spoken tone. The album picks up a more cheerful feeling on the next track, “Young Moses,” which sets the album in its place, which Ritter calls “messianic oracle honky tonk,” an ironic description for a blatant critique on religion.
Religion has always been a big part of Ritter’s music. He grew up in a traditional churchgoing family and has since become an atheist, but fills his lyrics with biblical imagery to reflect back on the culture he was brought up in. On "Sermon," this imagery is more vivid than ever before with the title being an alcoholic wordplay of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount where he taught his disciples to use The Lord’s Prayer.
Ritter uses his pen to stab the subject of spirituality and while it’s not going to turn a Christian into a nonbeliever, we are left with an understanding of his qualms. On “Henrietta, Indiana” we hear about a family growing up in the troubles of small town America feeling neglected by the Lord’s message “blessed be the poor” and the following track, “Get Ready to Get Down”, tells the tale of a girl whose parents sent her to Bible college to correct her “sinful” ways. Ritter tackles these bleak stories with a smile by inserting phrases like “Jesus hates your high school dances” and setting the lyrics to danceable pop songs.
With eight albums and a novel, "Bright’s Passage," which received accolades from Stephen King, to his name, Ritter is becoming known as one of the great modern writers and "Sermon on the Rocks" stands among his best in his collection.
Essential Tracks: Birds of the Meadow, Henrietta, Indiana, Seeing Me’ Round, Get Ready to Get Down