Josh Rouse leaves Nashville but records the record of his life just before he does. The fury that surrounds awarding a 10 out of 10 to a record actually supercedes that surrounding the 1 out of 10s that occasionally (or this month perhaps a little more than occasionally) adorn these pages, and brings with it claims ala GCSE results-day of slipping standards and quotas, but having spent the best part of the last two months with the record, it??s no understatement to say that the new album from Mr Rouse is indeed nothing less than a monster. Marking his departure from the city of Nashville after a decade??s residency (in order to head for the relatively sunnier climes of Spain), it??s a record that consolidates all that??s good about Rouse??s music while perfecting his strengths throughout. The fact that he??s leaving Nashville is obviously something that??s significant for Rouse, and perhaps significantly sad in its own way, and this partly comes through from the fact that despite the press release attesting to the album highlighting the variety of musical styles that you can find in modern Nashville, it??s without a doubt the most alt-country leaning record he??s ever produced, with echoes of Dylan, Springsteen and even Parsons. ??It??s the Nighttime,? the album opener, is layered with lapsteel and all manner of instrumentation of the genre that Rouse has consciously set himself against in recent years, but you have to wonder why when you hear how well the whole thing hangs together ?? it feels far more cohesive and less forced than anything he??s ever done, including the acclaimed ??1972.? Rouse??s reasons for leaving Nashville and indeed the US could be due to any number of things, but the vibe of the second track, the lead single from the record ??Winter in the Hamptons? with its harrying against governments led by liars can??t, you imagine, be entirely co-incidental. Elsewhere on the record, there are real treasures to be found, including the Jeff Lynne-esque and staggeringly beautifully orchestrated ??Streelights,? the Beach Boys harmonies of ??Carolina? and the luxuriously emotional ??Sad Eyes,? complete with strings that build and a chorus that rises higher and higher into sentiments that become almost overwhelming in their strength. That Rouse has always been supremely talented is not really in question, but it still comes as a surprise that he??s managed to make a record that feels so instantly essential and rewarding. 2005??s first contender then for album of the year, and one that would take some beating in any year ?? Rouse has firmly found himself and, however hackneyed it sounds, created a genuine instant classic.
