Nashville

The story goes that Josh Rouse’s marriage fell apart and he left Nashville for Spain to pick up the pieces. Well, this isn’t the emotionally draining set you might expect and it’s not an album that much reflects his stay in Country Music U.S.A. Rouse channeled his love and angst into a much more easily digestible treatise. He’s not all sun-n-fun, but his melodies tend towards the upbeat, and while a piano ballad like “Sad Eyes” carries a heavier vibe than most, it’s the vaguely country-influenced powerpop frolic of “It’s the NIghttime “ and “Winter in the Hamptons” that proves the singer-songwriter is as dedicated as ever to exploring the textures of early 1970s orchestration and the warm, inviting AM radio ease of that singer-songwriter era. He may be down but he’s not out. His fifth studio album continues the critically acclaimed songwriter’s streak of writing those oddly familiar tunes that you can’t quite place. This pleasurable déjà vu works throughout alluring tunes such as “Streetlights,” “Middle School Frown” and “Saturday.” Sure he sings “My Love is Gone” but his capable musicianship and natural wit never abandon him.

The city of Nashville has morphed from countrypolitan to Cosmopolitan-- so has Josh Rouse.

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It would be disingenuous to discuss Josh Rouse's new recording, Nashville, without talking about his 2003 release, 1972.