Subtitulo

Following in the steps of the excellent "Nashville" album, this is one of those albums I like to set in the background while reading for hours. It's cheerful, mellow, lyrical, and most of all, soothing. If this sweet and quietly catchy music is what living in Spain leads to, then there's no pressure to move back to Nebraska.

Outstanding tracks: Summertime, Givin' it Up, and His Majesty Rides. Actually, all the tracks are consistently outstanding. If you like it, you'll love his previous albums, "Nashville" and "1972."

I recommend it for people who enjoy Keane, Jack Johnson, Coldplay, Joseph Arthur, Pete Yorn, Sondre Lerche, John Mayer, Matt Nathanson, Teitur, Ben Kweller, Guster, the Jayhawks, Amos Lee, and Sufjan Stevens.

Josh Rouse recently moved to Spain. He set up shop and wrote Subtitulo in a week after arriving. It is a short album in length, but there is no shortage of stories. There is a folk feel in each song as singer takes listener for a ride. If you like the genre, which is a slower indie rock (I actually like to call it "soundtrack music" since it would be perfectly suited to just play in the background while we go on with our day to day activities) check Josh out. Rouse has made seven albums, and each is slightly different. I am confident there is one you could enjoy. Subtitulo is the seventh and most recent. It jockeys back and forth with Nashville for my favorite of his work. But they are also the albums I have listened to the most. One thing that can be said about Josh Rouse is that no matter who his tracks remind you of, he keeps his own style to never get lost in the crowd.

This album came out under his own Bedroom Classics Records.

"I started Bedroom Classics after my previous record contract ended. I had talked to quite a few labels but the reality was that there weren't many benefits for an artist like myself at a big corporation" Rouse stated. "With my own label, I can give my fans music through the internet or through traditional outlets more often - as it should be. My goals in doing this are to keep making records and to earn enough to keep going...which in my eyes is success." -joshrouse

01. Quiet Town Not in other tracks, but definitely in this song I think Josh Rouse has a slight Paul Simon sound to him. I think the music contributes a good amount, however. This is a nice song about preferring life in a small town even when it means giving up all the opportunities the big city has to offer. If you have access to a cabin/house somewhere remote, go there and turn this one up. It is a hard point to argue.

02. Summertime Rouse jazzes the album up early with a funky tempo in track 2. He delivers the vocals through a more seductive tone almost as if he is whispering. It is a fun track to reminisce over warm days gone by.

03. It Looks Like Love This one is a foot-tapper. Rouse shows a little more vocal range by hitting a few higher notes. I'll try to save the times I sing along to this song to when I am alone...though I know I won't.

04. La Costa Blanca This is the first of two Spanish titles which may seem out of place on the album, but give them a try. This one is actually an entirely instrumental track. The guitar work blends well with the piano and drums

05. Jersey Clowns A sad little ditty about a hard-luck man who is about to get some bad news about his lady. How do you tell someone bad news?

06. His Majesty Rides Track 6 snaps you out of the depression the last song sunk you into. You will probably get caught singing along with this one without realizing you were doing it. There is a little more soul poured into this track than some of the others. It's nice.

07. Givin' It Up When the song starts you think you've shuffled discs to the ABBA album you deny owning. It's a very upbeat sound that carries you through the track. The song is about giving up drinking after a rough night. The optimistic perspective towards the future coupled with the music make for a pretty happy song (for lack of a better word). On an album I enjoy greatly, this is probably my favorite track.

08. Wonderful A touching track about the opening of one's heart. It is a nice ode-to-another.

09. The Man Who With female vocalist Paz Suay. She compliments Rouse well as they tell the story of a meeting between a woman and man. The man has wallowed in a past break-up until they meet one day on the train in New York.

10. El Otro Lado Our second Spanish title. Do not shy away. There is a little Mediterranean influence in the guitar. Take a chance; do not be content sitting back and letting life happen. It is a nice message and a good strong to end the album on.

Barely a year after releasing the glorious Nashville, Josh Rouse has returned with Subtitulo, his first album since relocating to Spain. It continues a fine run of melodic, bittersweet folk/rock albums for the talented singer-songwriter stretching back to his 1998 debut All Dressed Up Like Nebraska. Song titles like 'La Costa Blanca' and 'El Otro Lado' might lead one to think that Rouse is trying his hand at much more Spanish influenced material here, but no, thankfully, Subtitulo is the usual exquisite blend of 70's influenced rock, pop, soul, folk, and country that we've come to know and love from him.

Opener 'Quiet Town' addresses Rouse's new life in a Spanish village, and it's idyllic surroundings would appear to find the normally pensive songwriter in a more relaxed frame of mind - even if the everpresent melancholy in his voice might suggest otherwise. On the blissful and somewhat raunchy 'It Looks Like Love' the first traces of a Spanish lilt creep into Rouse's vocals, and as usual, love is never far from his thoughts. Over an irresistable groove Rouse sings "here comes that melancholy feeling again" - and you know all too well what he's talking about. Another highlight is the tantalizingly titled 'The Man Who...' - an intriguing duet with Rouse's Spanish girlfriend Paz Suay on which it is revealed that the protagonist is "the man who doesn't know how to smile". Suay's delightful voice reminds me of a Spanish girl I got to know recently on a long distance bus ride. She was lovely - so too is this song.

Also of note is the beautiful and evocative instrumental track 'La Costa Blanca', the poignant, downcast buddy-song 'Jersey Clowns' and 'Givin' It Up' which has a distinctive Barry White symphonic groove thang goin' on. It also has to be the cheeriest song about giving up the bottle that I've ever heard.

At times Subtitulo can sound quite breezy, as on the bossa-nova flirtations of 'Summertime' & 'Wonderful' or on the cheeky 'His Majesty Rides'. Such songs I woudn't necessarily class as essential, or among Josh Rouse's finest compositions, even so, in their own way they are enjoyable, laid-back slices of retro-pop.

Josh Rouse closes this short 33 minute album with 'El Otro Lado' (translation: 'The Other Side') by reflecting upon his former life and why he is better off living in Spain.

Subtitulo doesn't quite hit the highs of last year's Nashville or 2002's Under Cold Blue Stars, but it still has, amongst a handful of lovely songs, much to commend it - and is a must for existing fans.

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