Description:
Josh Rouse is about as consistent an artist as they come. After 2003's apt-sounding 1972 and 2005's equally sepia-tinted Nashville, the risk was that Rouse would abandon his stonewashed sound and aim for something artificially on the ball and of the moment. Hasn't happened. Subtítulo, so named because the artist has curled himself up in the culture of his adopted country, Spain, is as stuck in the '70s as anything he's produced, only this time he's sprinkled on Basque-country flavoring. "Quiet Town" paints so pretty a picture of sleepy romantic Euro villa life that it comes across as a kick in the shin to daydreaming
Josh Rouse is about as consistent an artist as they come. After 2003's apt-sounding 1972 and 2005's equally sepia-tinted Nashville, the risk was that Rouse would abandon his stonewashed sound and aim for something artificially on the ball and of the moment. Hasn't happened. Subtítulo, so named because the artist has curled himself up in the culture of his adopted country, Spain, is as stuck in the '70s as anything he's produced, only this time he's sprinkled on Basque-country flavoring. "Quiet Town" paints so pretty a picture of sleepy romantic Euro villa life that it comes across as a kick in the shin to daydreaming suburbanites; "Summertime" effectively recreates long days by Grandma's kidney-shaped pool; "It Looks Like Love" cops a Seals & Crofts soft-rock creaminess that goes down so easy it really has no business presenting itself in this decade; and "Jersey Clowns" clambers along thoughtfully, sweeping unsuspecting listeners up in a low-decibel tale of love gone wrong. Two Spanish tracks, "La Costa Blanca" and "El Otro Lado," look more out of place here than they sound; the first is instrumental, and the second is sung in regular old Rouse-ian English, give or take a few surprising Rufus Wainwright-like flourishes. Pick an adjective to attach to this disc, and invariably you'll come up with a tepid one like "nice." But you'll mean it in the best way possible. --Tammy La Gorce
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Manufacturer: Nettwerk Records
Release date: 21 March 2006
EAN: 0067003047722 UPC: 067003047722
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