Album: Josh Ritter, The Beast in its Tracks (Yep Roc)

The wholesome singer-songwriter from Idaho has always been one to watch: but it's taken divorce to invest something deeper in his mile-wide-smile delivery style.

The Beast in its Tracks is, as hinted at in its title, Ritter's Blood on the Tracks. Ritter being Ritter, though, there is little bitterness on show here. Instead, he sets his bruised but unbowed soul against a stark musical backing and rediscovers the power of keeping it simple. Beautiful.