Josh Ritter finds his muse

Although he hasn’t achieved the legendary status of his musical muses — including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and other household-name luminaries — Ritter’s Americana always has touched just the right chord literally and figuratively, to build him a solid fan base and garner top critical reviews.

I think with each record the only thing you can really achieve is to write songs that make you feel things you have felt before,” said Ritter, who is touring behind his latest release, “So Runs The World Away.” “It’s never like feeling a progression as much as dodging your shadow and getting into the sunlight of what you’re doing now. It’s a funny thing; each record I record is a reaction not just to the last but where I am in life.”

That started in 1999 when he recorded his debut, but really caught notice in 2002 when his album “Golden Age of Radio” was released and the HBO television show “Six Feet Under” used a track from the album.

From there, critical acclaim and sold-out shows became the routine as Ritter continually refined and released his music.

But in 2007, after the release of his album “Historical Conquests,” something odd happened and Ritter grew increasingly dissatisfied with his professional trajectory.

“I was really, really confused and kind of terrified that I wouldn’t be able to write anymore,” Ritter said. It felt awful and it was a weird thing because in my performing I felt we were as good as we could get, and in my own personal life I was very happy. I had just gotten married and everything was going great, and a shadow was hanging over me. I just didn’t feel like writing.”

Compounding the problem was that when Ritter did write, he felt his efforts were not well-done — even fake — and couldn’t break out of the funk.

His breakthrough came in the form of the song “The Curse.”

“That was the first time I thought, ‘OK. I know the world isn’t ending.’ I felt like I finally had something to hold on to,” he said.

Hours of work in writing, arranging and recording resulted in his new album, filled with songs that he likens to oil painting on large canvases.

The song also marks a turning point for Ritter as he moves his career into an adult life appreciative of those who’ve aided and guided him along the way. Beyond that, though, it’s a turning point in how to keep his artistic spirit alive.

“When I first started out, it was easy [to stay hungry]. You want to be famous; you want to be on the cover of Rolling Stone,” he said. “Once you have a home and you’re not fighting to pay your rent … what actually makes you hungry can be really complicated. … To me, it was worth not taking a step back, to write something that felt real. That’s what I found and … it will always be there.”