Songs like “It Looks Like Love” and “Jersey Clowns” also have feet planted into two different times, with nods to the songwriting styles of Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, the latter two especially in “Jersey Clowns” with its biographical storytelling lyrics, and “Wonderful” with its Joel-like heartfelt words. Rouse’s voice is sublime during the bridge as he sings about the difference between small town life and big city tours, “ Oh, sometimes I miss the show, but I learned a long time ago.” “Summertime” is one of the first Brazilian influenced songs on the album, an acoustic samba number that belies the 1972-like lyrics about reminiscences of tube socks and listening to Purple Rain. “Quiet Town” is the slow opener, acting as somewhat of an introduction, possibly referring to both the town in which he was raised, Paxton, Nebraska, or the Spanish town in which he was residing during the recording of the album. The result is Subtítulo, an exquisite album which combines Rouse’s already inherent pop sensibilities, his alt-country and folk leanings, and a healthy dose of global community.
He moved to a small town on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, explored his interest in Brazilian music, started his own label and immersed himself into what he does best, songwriting. It was the best of Rouse’s career, until now. Rouse explored the ’70s AM rock of his youth on his breakthrough album 1972, then his marriage started to fall apart and he moved out of the country, only to call his subsequent album Nashville. Nebraska born singer / songwriter Josh Rouse, on the other hand, creates the perfect balance between writing from experience, and writing from experiment. Of course, if everyone followed this, the world would be a very dull place indeed and we would be without some of the most imaginative fiction and music ever created.
One of the oldest adages in writing is “write what you know.” This rule is what helped Herman Melville write one of the most lauded novels in American history.
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