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UID:2b146710-354d-46f5-928f-93ac3514f242@360exp.net
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DTSTAMP:20260928T062238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T234823Z
DTSTART:20270202T190000Z
SUMMARY:Josh Rouse
LOCATION:Leeds Brudenell Social Club
DESCRIPTION:+ Kathryn Williams - On his gorgeous new album\, Museums and Wo
 men\, Josh Rouse is part songwriter\, part street photographer\, an itiner
 ant documentarian traveling the world capturing evocative portraits that r
 eveal not only the rich inner lives of his subjects\, but also the tender 
 soul of the man behind the lens. "I was drawn to these songs because they'
 re so observational\," Rouse reflects. "They're full of characters and sto
 ries I dreamed up from little moments that sparked my imagination on the r
 oad. At the end of the day\, though\, it's inevitable that I'm in there so
 mewhere\, too." Recorded in Nashville with longtime production partner Bra
 d Jones (Chuck Prophet\, Hayes Carll)\, Museums and Women showcases Rouse 
 at his most hopeful and romantic\, balancing casual poetry and wry humor i
 n equal measure as he conjures up a cast full of drifters and dreamers mov
 ing through life with quiet satisfaction. The subjects of these songs are 
 almost always in transit\, but never lost\; searching\, but never desperat
 e\; longing\, but never lonely. The music\, meanwhile\, is often bitterswe
 et\, with a gentle\, seemingly placid surface that belies the deep well of
  emotion and memory and desire underneath. The result is a lush\, cinemati
 c exploration of the endless stream of passing strangers who slip in and o
 ut of our lives on a daily basis\, a professional people watcher's take on
  the external worlds we carry within\, the internal worlds we map onto oth
 ers\, and the real world that lies somewhere in between. "When I was writi
 ng these songs\, I was trying to envision the entire scene\, to create a f
 ully fleshed out place where I could go while performing the music\," Rous
 e explains. "I wanted to make it as real for the audience as it was for me
 ."Hailed by NPR as "one of contemporary music's most engaging singer-songw
 riters\," Rouse first emerged with his stunning 1998 debut\, Dressed Up Li
 ke Nebraska\, which Billboard proclaimed to be a "dark horse gem." In the 
 years to come\, he would go on to release thirteen more critically acclaim
 ed albums\, homing in on a warm\, ruminative sound that fused elements of 
 vintage folk\, roots rock\, and AM pop with a distinctly modern and emotio
 nally insightful perspective. Q called his 2003 breakout release\, 1972\, 
 "the most intimate record of the year\," while Rolling Stone dubbed his fo
 llow-up\, Nashville\, "a landmark album\," and EW described 2013's The Hap
 piness Waltz as "a big contender for Rouse's best work." After moving to S
 pain\, where he lived for a little more than a decade\, Rouse won a Goya A
 ward (the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar) for his song "Do You Really Want
  To Be In Love\," and since returning to the States in 2018 with his wife 
 and children\, he's continued to tour and record at a relentless clip\, pe
 rforming everywhere from Glastonbury to Massey Hall. "I don't feel like I 
 have anything to prove at this point in my career\," Rouse explains. "I fe
 el very rich in life that I'm still able to continue doing what I love\, a
 nd my sole motivation remains the joy that I get from writing and performi
 ng."It was that joy that compelled Rouse to return to the studio in the fa
 ll of 2024\, despite having no specific plans for a new album at the time.
  "I was between labels\," Rouse says\, "so when Brad invited me to spend a
  day recording with him\, I didn't really have an agenda. The experience w
 as just so effortless and enjoyable that we kept doing it every few months
  until we had a full album's worth of material on our hands." The sessions
  were quick and raw\, with Rouse on guitar\, Jones on bass\, and Fred Eltr
 ingham (Sheryl Crow\, The Chicks) on drums. The trio would record live in 
 the morning\, cutting multiple tunes in a row before returning in the afte
 rnoon to complete overdubs while the music was still fresh and new. "At a 
 certain point\, Brad had this folder full of recordings on his desktop\, a
 nd he asked me what to call it\," Rouse remembers. "I suggested Museums an
 d Women because it was the name of a John Updike book I'd always loved\, a
 nd it just felt right for the kind of stories I was telling." Indeed\, Mus
 eums and Women is a particularly fitting title for a collection that obser
 ves its subjects from a reverent distance\, elevating ordinary moments of 
 human connection (or lack thereof) into gallery-worthy masterpieces. Album
  opener "Spring" sets the stage\, with Rouse's narrator offering to bring 
 a little color into a potential lover's cold\, gray world. "Winter's way t
 oo long\, baby / Waitin' for the sun to shine\," he sings over a mix of ja
 ngly acoustics and languid slide guitar. "We could have some fun maybe / I
  could bring the spring." Like much of the album\, the track is rooted in 
 a relentless optimism\, an absolute faith in the power of love to lead us 
 where we're meant to be. The breezy "January Sky" finds peace and contentm
 ent in truly being seen by a partner\, while the bossa nova-tinged "Sunday
  In The Country" trades hustle and ambition for the simple joys of slow li
 ving\, and the infectious "Things Are Looking Up" learns to look on the br
 ight side. "You don't have to be on your own\," Rouse's narrator sings to 
 a fellow drinker at the bar. "I could help you with a thing or two." "Ther
 e's a bit of mystery to all these songs\," Rouse explains\, "but there's a
 lways a woman involved. Love-or the search for it-is what ties them all to
 gether." The dreamy "Other Side Of The Tracks\," for instance\, turns a pa
 ssing glance into a whirlwind romance on the California coast ("I just wan
 ted to know you / Your life looked like some fun / Could I be part of it?"
 ). The intoxicating "Parnell Street\," on the other hand\, never manages t
 o make the connection\, but still finds pleasure walking the rainy streets
  of Dublin and knowing that life is full of possibility (There's so many p
 eople in the world / There's so many redheaded girls / And here I am tonig
 ht / It feels so good to be alive"). And while Rouse's characters are rare
 ly rooted in any kind of permanent way-tracks like airy "Short-Order Cook"
  and charming "Wanderlust" follow subjects who live their lives perpetuall
 y on the move-their yearning for what comes next is never presented as a f
 law or shortcoming\, but rather as a beautiful and essential part of their
  humanity. "Step right in\, watch your tone / No touching things that you 
 don't own\," Rouse sings on the title track\, his narrator drifting throug
 h a gallery where the line between patrons and exhibits is blurry at best.
  On Museums and Women\, everyone is both a work in progress and a work of 
 art. Even the artist himself.\n\nBoletos: https://wegottickets.com/event/7
 15694
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