Josh Ritter just released his first studio album in almost three years, The Beast In Its Tracks. It may well be remembered as Ritter's divorce record, as it was written and recorded in the wake of his 18-month marriage suddenly dissolving. As Josh says:

"In the year after my marriage ended, I realized that I had more new songs than I'd ever had at one time. Far from the grand, sweeping feel of the songs on So Runs the World Away, these new songs felt like rocks in the shoe, hard little nuggets of whatever they were, be it spite, remorse, or happiness. I hadn't composed this stuff, I'd scrawled it down, just trying to keep ahead of the heartbreak. They needed to be recorded like that. We needed to work fast, make decisions quickly, keep the songs as spare as they could be kept, and above all never allow ourselves to blunt the sharp edges. Some of the songs were mean or evil. So be it."

You can watch the lyric video for "New Lover" here, and be sure to tune into LATE SHOW with David Letterman on March 12 to see Josh kick off his tour with a performance of "Joy To You Baby".

Check out Rainn Wilson's SoulPancake interview with Josh here!