Spectral Lines

Spectral Lines is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. The album was released on April 28, 2023 on Thirty Tigers Records and was Ritter’s first full-length studio album since Fever Breaks. Sam Kassirer, a member of Josh’s Royal City Band, produced the album for Thirty Tigers Records.

Composition
Ritter announced the album on January 24, 2023. “I wanted to make a record that looked outward, following close on the heels of time as it traveled forward, looking toward the future, rather than backward at the record of things past. The songs on Spectral Lines float forward through all kinds of sonic environments, from the winds of Mars, through realms caustic and sumptuous. Sam Kassirer and a host of angelic musicians helped me as I traveled. The signal that the lyrics beam out is composed of Light, in the spectrums of Imminence and Resolve and Love.”

Ritter also returned to recording with his Royal City Band after recording his last album with Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit where Isbell also served as producer.

Track listing
All songs written by Josh Ritter.

Critical reception
The album received positive critical reaction and has a weighted score on Metacritic of 75 indicating generally favorable reviews.

Writing for No Depression, Matt Ruppert wrote “Ultimately, Ritter weaves a hopeful tapestry that encourages listeners to sit with each other in introspection, but not to forget to sing along.”

Paste Magazine listed the album as one of the 10 best albums of April 2023, writing, “Josh Ritter is like a more open-hearted version of Leonard Cohen. His lyrics draw on the divine but he seems to see a little heaven in all the people around him. The Idaho native’s 11th album Spectral Lines is his most contemplative and ethereal, examining human connection with all its beauty and pain.”

Writing for American Songwriter, Lee Zimmerman gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. “The end result is an album that demands a concerted listen in order to fully appreciate all the tones and textures it has to offer. With Spectral Lines, Josh Ritter continues to blur the boundary between melody and mystique.”

Personnel

 * Josh Ritter – guitar, lead vocals
 * Zack Hickman – bass (electric and upright)
 * Sam Kassirer – clavinet, drums, engineer, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, melodica, organ, organ (Hammond), photography, piano, producer, synthesizer
 * Shane Leonard – bass, bass (electric), drums, engineer, guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), percussion
 * Kevin O'Connell – bass (electric), drums, engineer, guitar (electric), percussion
 * Jocie Adams – clarinet, remote recording, synthesizer, voices
 * Dietrich Strause – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric)