29-year old Josh Ritter is from Moscow, Idaho. The son of two neuroscientists, he was on his way to follow in their footsteps when he discovered Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country". "Hearing that record was like meeting the person you're going to marry," Josh says.

Following the independent release of Golden Age of Radio (2002) and Hello Starling (2003), his latest album is called The Animal Years. The title refers to the long, grueling time he spent touring behind Starling, a Herculean effort that ultimately yielded him success overseas (in Ireland, he’s a star) and the chance to kick back -- for a few weeks at least -- at the new house he bought in rural Idaho.

"The title had been in my head for a while and I tried to convince myself it wasn't the one I should use," Ritter admits, "but for me it was perfect. I was thinking back on the period of my life leading up to this record and my experience up to that point was, you get up, you start to play music and you tour. It's such a strange life style. In a lot of ways I felt like I became this thing, half-man, half-animal, out in the middle of the country, playing. It was so bizarre. Everyone else is living their lives and doing things that are bit more normal … I became the proto-hunter-gatherer, going out wherever and doing stuff and trying to find a way to make sense in a human way. I think back on that time and feel definitely, those were my animal years."

Download: "Girl in the War"

Check out all of the upcoming tour dates at the official website, JoshRitter.com!

Theme: The Animal Years