Josh Rouse’s The Embers Of Time comes out on April 7 on Yep Roc Records. But we’re delighted to share the entire album playlist with you now!
The album opens with an upbeat, get-a-move-on tune, “Some Day’s I’m Golden All Night.” With it’s railroad train beat and strummy underpinnings, it sets the mood for a happily varied collection of wonderfully recorded and arranged songs.
It’s immediately followed by a laid back “Too Many Things On My Mind,” one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Rouse somehow seems to channel Paul Simon on “You Walked Through The Door” and I hear overtones elsewhere on the album, too. Poking out among the rollicking country harmonica and straight ahead downbeats are subtle stylistic patter and a phrasing sensibility that sets these songs apart.
I really like the variety on this collection paired with the sweet string sounds and smooth vocals. The melodies and lyrics seem uncommon but not too far off the beaten track. Job well done!
Rouse shares, “The Embers of Time was recorded between Spain and Nashville with Brad Jones who I've recorded with a lot. Part of it’s a band and part of it’s just me with some arrangements. A lot of the performances on there are live. We ran through each song maybe once or twice and [the band] just nailed it! They’re so good! As a result, it has something you just can’t get recording things one at a time. We were in the same room. Something happens. A sort of glue to everything.”
Do yourself a favor and get this playlist going:
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"It's my surreal expat therapy record," observes Josh Rouse about his new LP. A career peak, The Embers of Time takes inspiration from his self-admitted crisis of confidence and bouts with existential psychotherapy in his adopted home of Valencia, Spain.
The 10-song collection of originals contains some of Rouse's most beautiful arrangements and complex songwriting to date. First song and lead single "Some Days I'm Golden All Night" channels Glen Campbell-style Countrypolitan pop mastery through 'Self Portrait'-era Dylan confessional lyrics.
"Some Days I'm Golden All Night" is available instantly when 'The Embers of Time' is pre-ordered at iTunes.
Rouse split time recording the album between Valencia and Nashville, and enlisted Brad Jones (Justin Townes Earle) as producer. The record moves from the hushed twang of "Time," where Josh recalls a stepfather who died too young and muses about his own mortality, to the deceptively sunny album closer "Crystal Falls," which recounts a rare period of solace from his itinerant childhood. "In Crystal Falls I made a few good friends," he sings. "It was just another stop. I never saw them again."
Originally hailing from rural Nebraska, Rouse has carved out a distinguished career as a top-tier musician. His last record, The Happiness Waltz earned unanimous praise, with AllMusic calling it "absolutely beautiful, like 10cc producing Al Green."
Laura B. Whitmore is a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, writing for Parade.com,Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
