From the politically charged songs of “The Animal Years” to the more playful narrative style of his new album, the singer has consciously avoided repeating the “same old act.”

Question: Did yournconsciously turn away from political songwriting after “The Animal rnYears”?

Josh Ritter: WellrnI guess I just didn’t think it was, like I thought about it a lot like arnsurgery, you know, like there was something there that—I remember I was,rn withrn“Animal Years” I had just started—when I was writing that record, I had rnjustrnstarted running, and I was running and running—I was back in Idaho and Irn wouldrngo on these runs down these long gravel roads, and I remember sometimes rnjustrngetting so angry about nothing specific. rnJust free floating anger, and I felt like it was growing in me, rnand Irnfelt like “Animal Years” was about just cutting that out and getting it rnout.  And then once that was out, I feltrnlike—I felt pretty expunged and purged of it.  So,rn I didn’t think that was, it wasn’t like I was trying torngo out there and teach anybody a lesson, I wanted to go out and say whatrn Irnfelt... which I felt “Animal Years” was kind of about religion and rnwhatever arnreligion is getting taken away from people, and used for kind of cynicalrnends.  And I thought that—but afterrnthat I had no desire to tell people what to think.  That’srn one of my big pet peeves.  Like most political rnsongwriting I would say is just aboutrnteaching people like they’re children or like they had never had no rnexperiencernwith the world on their own.  Peoplernbelieve what they believe for a reason and I just think that music is rnthe wrongrnplace to kind of teach somebody. rnEspecially because I don’t like artists who are—you’re a rnmusician, you’rernnot a political scientist, or... you know. 

So, and then—going from that to “Conquest” just rnfelt like itrnwasn’t so much that I wanted to stop writing political I just didn’t rnfeel therndrive to do that at that time, you know. rnAnd it was just really fun, like “Conquest” was a lot about—I wasrnworking with Sam Kassirer, my piano player, and my producer for this rnrecord asrnwell.  And it was like I just didrnan experiment and it turned into this great fun game of recording, whichrn was arnhold new discovery, you know, getting to work with somebody who really rngot whatrnI wanted.

Question: What did yournset out to achieve in your new album that you hadn’t before?

Josh Ritter: Irnthink in a lot of ways, this was a real defining record for me, making rnit.  I guess the major one is the fact thatrnI turn 33 and I have six records out. rnAnd at the end of my last record, really I was touring a lot, andrntouring and touring and I had a chance to do a lot of stuff.  And kind of in the back of my mindrnwhile I was doing it, I was thinking, "What’s going to happen now?  What am I going to write about, how amrnI going to keep from being just—how am I going to keep this new?  How am I going to keep making newrnmusic?" And I was worried about it and it’s just, I wrote, and wrote andrn nothingrnseemed right.  It felt like—it justrnfelt like I was repeating myself. rnIt’s like the Springsteen song, you know, “Same old story, same rnoldrnact.”  And I just always felt thatrnI fought to get a career where I could play music and I could do that rnfor thernrest of my life.  And I felt likernwhen I got to that point, I suddenly felt like, "Do I have anything elsern tornsay?"  It’s sort of like, you’rerncampaigning for an office and once you get there, you have no idea what rntorndo. 

And I think that that’s dangerous and I feel like rnI’ve metrnpeople who have decided that they’ve got to that point and then they’re rnjustrngoing to play their songs that people know, their hits, and that’s it; rnand theyrnstop developing.  And I didn’t wantrnthat to happen, so I spent a lot of time just kind of chewing on my rnfingers andrnthen trying to make sure that, like, I could write some songs that rnactually meantrnsomething new. And out of that came eventually, out of a lot of working rnandrnstrife, life strife, I started working on some songs, one of which was rncalledrn“The Curse,” and it started as just the idea of a mummy’s curse and whatrn wouldrnhappen if the mummy and the archeologist fell in love.  Andrn it was like—you only need one songrnusually to get you going, you know, one song to make you feel like you rncould dornthis again and you’re not as bad as you think you are at the moment, yourn know. And once that happens, the world kind of opens up.

Recorded April 5, 2010
Interviewed by Austin rnAllen