Caffeine-Headache

My current five minute crush is Josh Ritter...I am fairly new to Josh and first heard about him via an NPR broadcast. Ritter who hails from Idaho has risen from obscurity and his fan base has continued to multiply. HBO's decision to use the excellent "Come and Find Me" (on Six Feet Under) from Ritters sophmore Golden Age of Radio no doubt came into play. After hearing his excellent track "Wolves" I must say that my heart is his (at least for now). Ritter, an accomplished troubadour has just released a new album titled The Animal Years. The album is a largely sober affair built around a pair of anti-war songs. "Girl in a War", with it's references to Laurel and Hardy is a sweet take on the dire political issues of the day, while "Thin Blue flame" is a startling epic of war and it's consequences which starts out as a languid ballad and slowly builds into a raging rant.

Have a listen:

"Wolves"

"Thin Blue Flame"

"Girl in A War"

Get more downloads from Josh Ritter's MySpace (where you can launch the e card, and listen to the album in it's entirety) or his Official Site.

*Ritter performs June 9 at the El Rey (Los Angeles) and June 10 at The Casbah (San Diego)

Purchase The Animal Years here.

**********UPDATE**************
Here's a link to a live performance from Josh Ritter on April 21 in Chi-town, courtesy of The Late Greats blog.