„Josh Rouse's second album is titled Home, but don't expect it to provide the security and comfort associated with the place we lay our heads at night. Rather, Home is more about the unspoken longing for one - a distant ache permanently lodged in the marrow of Rouse's hesitantly upbeat roots-pop. Picking up where his 1999 collaboration with Lambchop's Kurt Wagner left off, the record subtly embellishes Rouse's spare, doe-eyed compositions with touches of brass, organ and strings. This instrumental detailing - courtesy of a few Lambchop members, among others - lends Rouse's wistful gazing a certain graceful sophistication, allowing his quiet yearning as much confidence as anguish. "I think I got it all figured out/ I think I've got it made," the Nebraska native declares on the album's hypnotic opener "Laughter," the song's mellow bounce echoing his happy realization. However, on "Afraid To Fail," near the record's end, the songwriter's creeping self-doubt has begun to dismantle his earlier certitude: "Not that I don't want to/ I'm just afraid to fail/ And I don't want to." It's this unpretentious, plainly stated lyricism that makes Rouse's songcraft so warmly inviting, poignantly balancing his fear and desire with hope and resolution.“

(CMJ)

While this follow-up to the excellent Dressed Up Like Nebraska doesn't offer any revelations, it's another dreamy, tuneful effort. Adding more colors to his palette, including horns and strings, Rouse seems intent on beefing up his sound. But he doesn't exactly break out of his trademark ethereal vibe, which causes the album to drag at times.

(by Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide)