Spanish flair
Steve Guimond
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Rouse does it his way
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Josh Rouse sings about small-town life in Spain
Josh Rouse has been quietly assembling one of the most impressive singer-songwriter back catalogues in recent memory. It's been close to a decade since his debut drop, Dressed up Like Nebraska, made ears tingle with its down-home country roots feel. Between then and now, Rouse has taken his music to a variety of levels: from straight-up pop (Under Cold Blue Stars) to white-boy soul (1972), all the way to completing the full-circle cycle with last year's ode to his adopted hometown, Nashville.The brand new Subtitulo, his sixth album, catches Rouse in full transition mode. It marks the first release on his own Bedroom Classics imprint, after a lengthy but turbulent relationship with the hallowed Rykodisc.
"My contract had ended with Ryko and I didn't want to sign another deal, so I thought, why not?" he says.
In the past, Rouse has cited his displeasure with the music industry business side of things, even at the independent level, so count this as a move towards taking things into his own hands.
"There are aspects of it that are always frustrating, but as you can see I'm finding ways to make it more liveable."
Subtitulo introduces us to a new side of the native Midwesterner: the musical and thematic influences
of his new country of residence, Spain. "Learning a new language is difficult but rewarding as well," he says. The European country serves as both backdrop - the lead-off single Quiet Town is about the small village he lives in - and resource, as Spanish musicians, studios and equipment were used in conceiving this gorgeous project.Josh Rouse
At Cabaret Juste Pour Rire, April 10
