{"id":6674,"date":"2022-10-05T15:39:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T15:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=6674"},"modified":"2022-10-05T15:43:07","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T15:43:07","slug":"the-beast-in-its-tracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/05\/the-beast-in-its-tracks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beast in Its Tracks"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Near Miss<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Josh Ritter’s breakup album is smaller than his previous work, but it stops short of pure self-satisfaction.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Review by Charlie Clark
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I found myself dreading the release of Josh Ritter\u2019s latest album<\/a>, which is strange, because he\u2019s been a favorite of mine since I first heard The Animal Years<\/em> back in 2006. His songwriting is truly superior, and he\u2019s got a talented and versatile band supporting him. If Fare Forward<\/em> were electing a poet laureate, he would be my nominee. His attitude toward Christianity is an especially powerful current under his music. His lyrics are saturated with biblical<\/a> and theological<\/a> language, but unlike most of what passes for Christian music these days, Ritter has the depth and spirit to wrestle with God. His lyrical theology might be described as misotheistic<\/a>, but his complaints and accusations are born of the real paradoxes<\/a> and difficulties<\/a> of the Christian faith.<\/p>

I largely agree with a poster on A Christian Thing<\/em> wrote<\/a> in 2012: \u201cWhat I appreciate about Josh\u2019s work, both in his songs and his novel, is that he doesn\u2019t let go of disturbing things.\u00a0His art begins in the chinks and flaws that modern culture seeks to hide, and that signal its eventual doom.\u00a0And he doesn\u2019t flinch.\u201d This unflinching treatment of paradox, which is reminiscent of Job or the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, reminds me of Dorothy Sayers\u2019s affirmation that \u201cthe dogma is the drama.\u201d The naked, problematic truth is stranger and grander and more beautiful than any fiction, even if the truth breaks or alienates us from ourselves. In an essay<\/a> entitled<\/a> \u201cStrong Meat\u201d Sayers writes, \u201cIt is the dogma that is the drama\u2014not beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death\u2014but the terrifying assertion that the same God Who made the world lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death.\u201d<\/p>

But the reason that I\u2019ve been dreading The Beast in Its Tracks<\/em> is because I was worried that this time, Ritter might flinch. Though I generally agree with the poster quoted above, there have been warning signs of possible cave-ins or cop-outs. The final verse of \u201cThin Blue Flame<\/a>\u201d comes to mind. Having just written about a world where \u201cbeating hearts blossom into walking bombs,\u201d he somehow manages to conclude that \u201cheaven\u2019s so big, they\u2019re ain\u2019t no need to look up.\u201d It\u2019s a last-ditch retreat into cognitive dissonance. And it\u2019s not an isolated incident. There have been other whiffs of feel<\/a>–good<\/a>. So I\u2019ve been worried on this album that he might stray into a solidly Upper Middle Brow<\/a> neighborhood and start \u201cpeddling uplift in the guise of big ideas.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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On his earlier records, Ritter is dealing with big stuff: God, war, existential aloneness, justice, et cetera<\/em>. Now, he\u2019s putting out a whole album about Josh Ritter.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I also worried that this set of songs would be too personal. Ritter had acknowledged the album was about his failed marriage and that he was working through his feelings. On his earlier records, Ritter is dealing with big stuff: God, war, existential aloneness, justice, et cetera<\/em>. Now, he\u2019s putting out a whole album about Josh Ritter. Color me skeptical. And on the album, he is indeed a smaller person. Beast<\/em> has its moments of what I can only describe as \u201cintense pettiness<\/a>.\u201d But occasionally, Ritter also manages to transcend his newfound smallness, and he is undiminished as a craftsman. One of the album\u2019s standouts is \u201cA Certain Light<\/a>,\u201d in which he starts off praising his new lover to his old one, but at the chorus confesses, \u201cAnd she only looks like you \/ In a certain kind of light.\u201d The song is a pleasant reminder that Ritter hasn\u2019t fully succumbed to self-delight.<\/p>

In \u201cJoy to You Baby<\/a>,\u201d which is pretty obviously meant to be the album\u2019s flagship tune, Ritter might approach a new kind of excellence. Don\u2019t get me wrong. I don\u2019t care much for the song. But it reminds me a little of Eliot\u2019s evaluation of Yeats. He wrote, \u201cI have, in early essays, extolled what I call impersonality in art\u2026 There are two forms of impersonality: that which is natural to the mere skilled craftsman, and that which is more and more achieved by the maturing artist\u2026 The second impersonality is that of the poet who, out of intense and personal experience, is able to express a general truth; retaining all the particularity of his experience, to make of it a general symbol.\u201d<\/p>

True, the poetry of \u201cJoy to You Baby\u201d is not particularly remarkable. Ritter has written better lyrics. But as a record of a particular life experiencing a universal reality that isn\u2019t entirely hackish or trite, it\u2019s worth a listen or two. Overall, my dread of The Beast in Its Tracks<\/em> was unfounded. Musically, Ritter is at the top of his game. Lyrically, he\u2019s not far off it. True, I hope that now that he\u2019s got this out of his system he might go back to writing about something outside his own head. But I suppose if he were to continue in this vein for a season, I could live with it. And I might even be pleasantly surprised.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Charlie Clark<\/strong> is a writer and retractor<\/a>. He lives in New Hampshire. <\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Beast in Its Tracks <\/strong>was released on March 15, 2013 by Pytheas Recordings. You can listen to it here<\/a>. <\/em>
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Josh Ritter’s breakup album is smaller than his previous work, but it stops short of pure self-satisfaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-archive","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1664984049.jpg?fit=1500%2C1366&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6674"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6679,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6674\/revisions\/6679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6674"}],"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