It’s been six years since Josh Rouse released a proper solo album along the lines of his stellar mid-career trio, Under Cold Blue Stars, 1972 and Nashville.
He followed his muse (and his wife) to Spain after 2007’s Country Mouse, City House and released one half-Spanish album and a couple of sleepy EPs. And while those records had their moments, they just didn’t feel like the Josh Rouse I love.
Here’s a cute little ditty from Josh Rouse’s 2007 album Country Mouse, City House. That record marked the end of era for Rouse… it was the end of his acoustic folk pop sound. His next album, 2010’s El Turista, was performed half in Spanish and entirely in a world music style.
Basically, he transformed from Paul Simon of the 70s to Paul Simon of the 90s, but without the same excellent results.
I’m entering my second week of songs that have personal meaning for me — a quality that is extremely rare in the music I listen to. Tellingly, many of these songs aren’t particular favorites of mine… the personal connection clearly isn’t that important when it comes to my enjoyment and appreciation of good music.
Last week’s songs all focused on the life cycle of a relationship… from adolescent romance through marriage, kids and ultimately death. This week’s songs are less unified in theme but they do seem to share a certain melancholy (surprise!) quality and most of them deal with some combination of nostalgia and regret.
Josh Rouse is a great example of a genome artist. He didn’t open my eyes to something new or expand my musical horizons. He just landed right in the sweet spot of my established preferences.
He’s a little bit ‘Pure Pop,’ a little bit ‘Folk Rock Derivative,’ with a dash of ‘Melancholy’ for flavor. He’s Paul Simon (both pre- and post-Graceland) crossed with a more upbeat Elliott Smith and a less glam The Smiths.
Josh Rouse has a way with closing tracks. He’s aware that an album should ebb and flow, and that you shouldn’t be able to confuse the first song with the last.
He tends to favor a quick start and a slow finish, with emotional peaks and valleys in between. This is one of just many ways to sequence an album, but it’s an effective one, and one he has returned to again ad again.
Meet Me In Montauk 