Josh Rouse has signed to New West Records and will release his label debut, Museums and Women, on October 23rd. The 10-song set was produced by Brad Jones, who also produced Rouse’s critically acclaimed 2003 album 1972. The album promises to showcase Rouse at his most hopeful and romantic, balancing casual poetry and wry humour in equal measure as he conjures up a cast full of drifters and dreamers moving through life with quiet satisfaction. Rouse says, “I was drawn to these songs because they’re so observational. They’re full of characters and stories I dreamed up from little moments that sparked my imagination on the road. At the end of the day, though, it’s inevitable that I’m in there somewhere, too.”
The sessions for the album were quick and apparently raw, with Rouse on guitar, Jones on bass, and Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, The Chicks) on drums. The trio would record live in the morning, cutting multiple songs in a row before returning in the afternoon 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, and he asked me what to call it,” Rouse remembers. “I suggested Museums and Women because it was the name of a John Updike book I’d always loved, and it just felt right for the kind of stories I was telling.”
Rouse first emerged with his 1998 debut, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, and in the years to come, he would go on to release thirteen more critically acclaimed albums, homing in on a distinctive, warm, ruminative sound that fused elements of vintage folk and roots rock. Q Magazine called his 2003 release, 1972, “the most intimate record of the year,” while Rolling Stone dubbed his follow-up, Nashville, “a landmark album.”
After moving to Spain, where he lived for a little more than a decade, Rouse won a Goya (the Spanish equivalent of an Oscar) for his song Do You Really Want To Be In Love, and since returning to Nashville in 2018 with his wife and children, he has continued to tour and record at a relentless clip, performing everywhere from Glastonbury to Massey Hall.
Rouse will launch his tour in support of the album in Los Angeles on October 14th, supporting Peter Bjorn and John; alas, no confirmed UK/EU dates as yet, but Josh is talking to Keith Hargreaves on the AUK Podcast soon and may well spill the beans then. Watch out for further announcements!
Museums and Women will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited Cream White colour vinyl edition and a limited compact disc edition, both autographed by Rouse, will be available at Independent Retailers and are also available for pre-order here.
“Museums and Women” Track Listing:
1. Spring
2. January Sky
3. Parnell Street
4. Short-Order Cook
5. Wanderlust
6. Things Are Looking Up
7. Museums & Women
8. Sunday in the Country
9. Other Side of the Tracks
10. Red Apple Road
