Tag Archives: El Turista

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Song of the Day #895: ‘I Will Live on Islands’ – Josh Rouse

Josh Rouse has put out enough wonderful albums by now that he’s earned the right to get away with something experimental. His 2010 album El Turista was a distracting trifle that let him stretch his new Spanish-language skills and blend his laid back pop with some exotic European sounds.

While this could have been a stab at a Graceland-style major work, it was handled more like a side project, a diversion. Despite the ambitious musical melange, the songs themselves are quick pop ditties, high on sugar and low on meat.

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Josh Rouse – El Turista

It’s fascinating to watch artists follow their muse to unexpected places.

Earlier this year, Rufus Wainwright released a collection of mournful chamber pieces featuring just his piano and vocals. And now we have masterful pop songwriter Josh Rouse, born and raised in the Midwest, putting out a new album sung half in Spanish.

I mention these two albums together because both artists have proved themselves eminently capable of smart, crowd-friendly pop music but neither appears all that interested in selling CDs. They’d rather stretch their musical muscles into new and unexpected directions — an opera here, a bossa nova there — and trust their loyal fans to follow.

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