Singer-songwriter Josh Rouse has been a staple of the Nashville music scene for nearly ten years. During this time, he released four critically acclaimed albums that combined the alternative country twang of Nashville locals like Ryan Adams with the melancholy croon of Nick Drake.
Rouse recorded his latest in the Music City and promptly relocated to Algea, Spain, upon the album's release. Nashville thus stands as both a tribute and farewell to the city that inspired his career thus far.
Rouse's albums have always had an anachronistic quality. 2002's Under Cold Blue Stars was a concept album about a young couple starting a life together in the 1950s. Last year's 1972 conjured the smooth soul of the '70s, complete with groovy basslines and flute solos. Far from being simple genre experiments, these albums sounded timeless because of the almost intangible sense of longing Rouse imbued in his melodies. His songs managed to sound at once joyous and haunted, optimistic and hopelessly despairing.
Nashville combines 1972's blue-eyed soul with the spare, cozy arrangements favored by artists like Norah Jones. The album opener, \It's the Nighttime,"" sets the tone; over a gentle, soulful arrangement, Rouse lobs playful come-ons like ""Maybe later on, I could try on your clothes"" to a potential paramour, all while barely breaking a sweat. The rest of the album follows this ultra-relaxed pace, with somewhat diminishing returns.
Nashville succeeds in replicating the sound of vintage country and soul. The problem with much of the disc is that many of the songs lack the lyrical substance needed to elevate them above simple genre exercises. Like Ryan Adams, Rouse disappears into his influences to a fault, and often fails to find his own voice. ""Why Won't You Tell Me,"" for example, expertly employs a jangly barroom piano and gang backing vocals and succeeds in sounding like an old Ray Charles song. However, the lyrics are so generic that Rouse may just as well cover a Ray Charles song.
Elsewhere, Rouse employs lazy lyrics like ""Life is good, sometimes it's bad"" without irony. While such boilerplate truisms may be acceptable in small doses, they stand out embarrassingly among Nashville's spare arrangements.
Nashville's most successful melody is also its most personal. On ""My Love is Gone,"" Rouse poignantly confesses, ""I've been so blue, I sleep with the TV on"" to compensate for his love's absence. Rouse's strength has always been these small details that convey more sadness than any grand poetic statement. Moments like this are too few and far between in Nashville. The album is not bad, but it fails to stand with Rouse's best work.
