ItвЂ™s also the inevitable soul number, and itвЂ™s a good one drawing heavily on Maxine NightingaleвЂ™s вЂњRight Back Where We Started FromвЂќ, souped up on warbly Clavinet and flashy horns. вЂњHollywood Bass PlayerвЂќ is one in a line of Rouse outsider character songs, and certainly the most fun: вЂњThe French didnвЂ™t want me around they didnвЂ™t like my groove / So I packed up my bass guitar / I moved to HollywoodвЂќ. вЂњIn my life / I only wanted things to go rightвЂќ is the kind of simple-yet-sincere sentiment Rouse delivers so well, but once more itвЂ™s the wonderful melody that catches your ear. A couple tracks later is the hard-luck ballad вЂњGod, Please Let Me Go BackвЂќ, RouseвЂ™s most spiritual track in years, on which he rediscovers his love of Smiths-influenced melancholia. More importantly, those words fill a gorgeous, swooning melody that almost leaves you with a вЂњWouldnвЂ™t It Be NiceвЂќ-type chill. вЂњWeвЂ™ll sleep on rooftops / WeвЂ™ll ride on bicycles / Baby weвЂ™ll get married / DonвЂ™t you want to, sweetie?вЂќ, Rouse sings. It opens with вЂњSweetieвЂќ, a country-tinged song about a star-crossed couple right out of HollywoodвЂ™s Golden Age. The first half of Country Mouse is much better. But for many Rouse fans, it just wasnвЂ™t the same. The guy whose best album, 2002вЂ™s Under Cold Blue Stars, was a concept record that tracked the trials and triumphs of the American Dream across generations, was now singing about вЂњwatermelon, fingerbanginвЂ™, Purple Rain and being coolвЂќ. But the emotional edge that had characterized his best work was gone, as was a lot of the melodic staying power of his songwriting. It also saw him fully embrace the вЂ™70s Mellow Gold and classic R&B that he paid heartfelt tribute to on 2003вЂ™s 1972. 2006вЂ™s Subtitulo, his first album recorded in Spain, offered subtle hints of the native music of his adopted home. Of course, none of that would matter were it not reflected in his music. You get the sense that Rouse has indeed вЂњbeen to PragueвЂќ. Not to begrudge a guy his happiness, but itвЂ™s all a bit cute. Suay co-wrote three of the nine tracks on Country Mouse, City House. Earlier in 2007, they released an EP together called SheвЂ™s Spanish, IвЂ™m American.

They collaborate on the artwork for his albums. He started his own label, through which he now releases all his material. HeвЂ™s said in the past that he lives in Spain because, hey, he likes it there. ItвЂ™s not like Rouse has sworn off America. Sometime around 2005вЂ™s Nashville, Rouse got divorced, kicked an alcohol problem, and moved to Spain.

A native Nebraskan, he made a name for himself in Nashville as a sensitive, melodically gifted singer-songwriter, releasing a handful of exceptional albums that got him lots of critical acclaim and a cult following, but not even half the commercial success he deserved. Granted, RouseвЂ™s story is far more complex than a college gradвЂ™s semester abroad. The line is so brilliant and hilarious because it captures the smugness and naivety with which American young adult artist types have for decades thrown off their native culture in exchange for a hipper, more thoughtful European model.ДЄnd when I think about Josh Rouse these days, especially his new album Country Mouse, City House, I canвЂ™t help but think of that line. Well, I havenвЂ™t вЂњbeen to PragueвЂќ been to Prague, but I know that thing, that, вЂњStop shaving your armpits, read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, date a sculptor, now I know how bad American coffee isвЂќ thingвЂ¦ When he tells her that Prague is overrated, she points out heвЂ™s never been there. One of the best lines in Noah BaumbachвЂ™s 1995 cult classic indie film Kicking and Screaming comes when hopeless romantic college grad GroverвЂ™s girlfriend tells him sheвЂ™s leaving him to move to Prague.

Life josh rouse