The Animal Years (2006)

Idaho-born singer-songwriter Josh Ritter is a huge star in Ireland, but in the United States he's just another semipopular sensitive dude with a guitar. Hopefully that will change with The Animal Years, Ritter's third album, as he finally has the sumptuous, sweeping arrangements to go along with his ruminative road stories and stream-of-consciousness, Dylanesque folk. He's put some Springsteen-style tricks to good use on cuts like ''Thin Blue Flame,'' adding tension and drama to make his personal tone poems resonate like big-screen epics.