Artist: Josh RitterAlbum:

So Runs The World AwayLabel: Pytheas RecordingsRelease date: May 4 (Today)Rating (Skip, Stream, or Buy): BuyDownload Stream:

Entire Album via NPRThe fifth album from Americana-folk god Josh Ritter, So Runs The World Away only further justifies comparisons to great troubadours like Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. But limiting him to genre associations is hardly fair either; the complex characters and intellectual themes running rampant put the Idaho native in a world all his own. And admitting this latest effort was his most difficult project, one that took him two years to complete amidst progress on his forthcoming novel, only highlights the unyielding curiosity that drives him. Through sweeping strokes rooted in simple chords, Ritter manages to simultaneously capture the enormity and minutiae of the stories he forges. Keep an eye on “Folk Bloodbath”–the entwining of characters from some of history’s finest murder ballads makes for a fine example of just how impressive his unabashedly colorful storytelling can be. In the end, Ritter is one of the best singer-songwriters of our generation–perhaps one of the best of all time–and So Runs The World Away is only the latest proof.