"Und obwohl er den selbstgestellten Retro-Anspruch konsequent erfüllt,
gelingt es ihm, den 10 Tracks die größtmögliche Pop-Stil-Vielfalt
zu verleihen; es gibt die fließende dezent soulige Ballade, das
echte Klavier auf Rumba-Basis, die reine Akustik-Gitarren-Lagerfeuer-Einsamkeit,
Countryfiziertes, Gospel-Untermaltes, vor allem aber glasklare Pop-Diamanten,
die auch auf einer Steely Dan-Platte geleuchtet hätten."
(Glitterhouse)
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"Josh Rouse's new 1972 is named after the year of
his birth, as well as the year of the music he's into right now: a smooth,
soulful sound informed by the light rock and lush R&B of the early
'70s. The album incorporates traces of Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison, Steely
Dan, and Carole King, but pinning down the influences isn't important,
because 1972 isn't about throwback shtick or note-for-note copying. Rouse
shadows the sophistication and perfection of classic pop, trying to replicate
its power to make listeners feel more at peace with their awkward relationships.
He keeps the lyrics fairly simple-no abstract song-suites about broken
marriages, like those on his sublime 2002 album Under Cold Blue Stars.
And while 1972 has its tales of drunks ("James") and bullied
underdogs ("Flight Attendant"), the preponderance of strings,
flutes, vibes, horns, and handclaps outweighs any sullen moments. The
feel-good chant-along "Love Vibration" is atypical Rouse, but
typical of 1972: Its sweet orchestrations and chipper mood couldn't be
more buoyant. "Sunshine" and "Slaveship" are similarly
complex in arrangement and minimal in concept, the former an uptempo declaration
of love and the latter an even more beat-crazy plea for understanding.
The album's second half gets mellower and more sensual, starting with
the supple "Come Back (Light Therapy)," a proto-disco ballad
about the wished-for return of a metaphorical and literal sun, and continuing
through the muted make-out number "Under Your Charms," highlighted
by a dusky duet of strings and fuzzy guitar. Rouse's usual restlessness
crops up on 1972, and if the record has a common lyrical theme, it has
to do with an urgent reaching out for something good. A lot of that good
resides in Rouse's own music and its confident assurance of beauty, but
he goes further on "Rise" (perhaps his best song yet), as he
invests a spiritual, ascendant hope in the reliability of waking up next
to the same person every day."
(The Onion)
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Josh Rouse's 1972 gives away the game in the first line of the first
song, the exquisite title track, when he name-checks Carole King. The
record is going back in time and it is going to have fun doing it. Rouse's
records have always been highly literate and highly musical, but they
have never been fun like this, and make no mistake, 1972 is a fun record.
Rouse sounds as loose as a goose and the songs reflect that. Not always
lyrically, as some of the songs touch on such non-fun subjects as loneliness,
repression, and bitterness, but definitely musically. To that end, Brad
Jones' production is spot-on perfect -- not an instrument is out of place
and the whole record has a jaunty bounce and a lush dreaminess. 1972 is
coated with sonic goodness: fluttering strings, piping horns, cotton-candy
sweet flutes, funky percussion, handclaps, and great backing vocals. Rouse
and Jones find inspiration in all the right places: in the laid-back groove
of Al Green, the California haze of Fleetwood Mac, the dreamy melancholia
of Nick Drake, the sexy groove of Marvin Gaye, and the wordy lilt of Jackson
Browne or James Taylor. The songs are the strongest batch Rouse has written
yet. "Love Vibration" is the hit single; it has everything a
hit single needs: musical hooks, lyrical hooks, vocal hooks, a smoldering
sax solo (optional), and a groovy video. Other songs that are sure to
be in heavy rotation are "James," a funky ballad that shows
off Rouse's wonderful falsetto (as does "Comeback [Light Therapy]")
and takes time for that most elusive creature, a good flute solo; "Under
Your Charms," a sultry, sensual ballad that takes a potentially squirm-inducing
subject and actually does it right, Marvin-style; and "Rise,"
a beautifully orchestrated epic that ends the record on a perfect note.
1972 should vault Rouse to the forefront of intelligent pop alongside
kindred spirits like Joe Pernice and Kurt Wagner (of Lambchop). If you
say you've heard a better adult pop record this year, you are lying. [Initial
pressings of the album came complete with a bonus DVD featuring the video
for "Love Vibration" and a short documentary about Josh Rouse
and his music. The first 100 copies even came with autographed liner notes.]
(by Tim Sendra, All
Music Guide)
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