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Josh RouseNashville Ryko/Stomp I was disappointed with the chirpy tone of Josh Rouse's last album '1972'. It was missing all the chilly climes of 'Under Cold Blue Stars' and the plaintive voice of 'Home'. Although I don't demand the man dwell in eternal darkness for the sake of song writing, Rouse's experiment in sun-drenched California melodies was a little more than I could handle. Rouse's happiness may have been a driving influence when he went in to the studio again to record his fifth album, 'Nashville', but one listen reveals that somewhere in the process the lightness ebbed. There's a small dash of cheer in this new album's mood, but a hell of a lot of that old familiar melancholy. 'Nashville' is the first album Rouse has recorded with his Nashville-based band; and, it would seem, the last. The story goes that as 'Nashville' took shape and neared completion, Rouse's life in the city began to crumble. His marriage dissolved, the band broke up, and on the eve of the album's completion, Rouse decided he'd finished with Nashville and jumped on a plane for Spain. It's not important how much of the album's tension stems from Rouse's personal life, but something has fuelled the music's sadness. Saturday has a lot of the soul warmth present in '1972', but there's a distinct sadness in the song too. There's an interplay between loneliness and joy in all of these new songs, poising Rouse between darkness and light. This tight balance is what Rouse's last album lacked, but 'Nashville' has it in spades. Streetlights combines a lilting string section with a heart-broken vocal and an amazing pop melody, and is possibly Rouse's best song yet. My Love Has Gone doesn't take much explaining, but It's The Nighttime is drenched in naive excitement. Why Won't You Tell Me What is pure blues piano and stomping drums, with Rouse's acerbic vocal "why won't you tell me what's going on with you?". The songs are broken up into two distinct sides, A and B, like two sides of a life in Nashville. Side A is up-beat with moments of shadow; Side B enveloped in darkness, watching hope fade. Does this reflect Josh Rouse's life in that city? Perhaps. Is it his best album yet? Without doubt.  |
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