Animal Years [Barnes & Noble Exclusive Bonus CD]

Personnel: Josh Ritter (vocals, guitars); Zack Hickman (guitars, lap steel guitar, mandolin, ukulele); Tim Bradshaw (guitars); Sam Kassirer (piano, organ, synthesizer); Dave Hingerty (drums, percussion); Brian Deck (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Tim Craven; Brian Deck.
Liner Note Author: Tom Ricks.
Recording information: Bear Creak (03/2005-05/2005); Catherine North (03/2005-05/2005); Engine Studios (03/2005-05/2005); GenX Studios, Nashville (03/2005-05/2005); Bear Creak (06/2008); Catherine North (06/2008); Engine Studios (06/2008); GenX Studios, Nashville (06/2008).
Photographers: Dave Hingerty; Jon Strymish; Derrick Santini; Derek Santini.
Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter's fourth album and V2 debut, ANIMAL YEARS, finds the artist refining the sophisticated songcraft that distinguished his critically acclaimed 2003 effort, HELLO STARLING. As a lyricist and tunesmith, Ritter is firmly in the tradition of early Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, creating transcendental set pieces out of simple folk structures and adorning them with elaborate, literate wordplay.
ANIMAL YEARS is more somber in tone than its predecessor, offering up a dark, introspective world that takes on topics such as the war in Iraq (like the opener, "Girl in the War"), though always in a manner that is poetic, oblique, and open to interpretation. Production by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse) gives the album a resonant glow, helping to create what may be one of Ritter's finest offerings.