Josh Rouse: Home

As an alt-rock-raised singer-songwriter bucking Nashville's country standard, Josh Rouse may stick out as a big fish in a small pond. But, while strong singer-songwriters are as populous now as they were popular in the '70s, few make it beyond the coffeehouse circuit. On a national stage, competing against all the struggling acts from coast to coast, Rouse could have been just another one of those thousands of little fish in a big pond. Fortunately, his striking debut Dressed Up Like Nebraska received a good deal of deserved attention, but as good as that album is, Home still shows a marked improvement. That's an impressive feat for a songwriter of Rouse's out-of-the-box caliber. Home, like Dressed Up Like Nebraska, was produced by Rouse and David Henry, and many of the same musicians who helped make Nebraska a success also return. Yet the disc, further fleshed out by members of Lambchop, is subtler and more complex than its predecessor, even while retaining the qualities of a spare, contemplative solo outing. Sounding like Paul Westerberg would had he fulfilled the promise of his post-Replacements career, Rouse is even more confident the second time out, his singing less eager, as if he knows these songs are guaranteed to please. Moody anthems like "Laughter" and "Directions" are better than the efforts of some artists with twice as much experience as Rouse, while "Afraid To Fail," the beautiful "Little Know It All," and "100M Backstroke" glow like the heyday of college rock tempered by the gloom of The Smiths. Rouse will be on the road for the better part of this year, and with an album as uniformly excellent as Home, he should have an easier time than ever getting people to listen.