Released in 2005, Nashville served as a farewell to both the city and his marriage it was also his most fully realized record to date, featuring Brad Jones' lush production and Rouse's poignant, nostalgic lyrics. Before the release of his next album, however, Rouse's marriage ended and he moved from Nashville to Spain. He then launched a partnership with producer Brad Jones - known for his work with pop artists like Marshall Crenshaw, Matthew Sweet, and Jill Sobule - and the resulting album, 1972, was both an homage to the soft rock sounds of Rouse's youth and a deepening of his sound. Rouse's second solo record, Home, appeared the following spring and was followed by Under Cold Blue Stars in 2002. The two began writing together and issued a collaborative EP, Chester, in the fall of 1999. He pulled up stakes shortly thereafter and resettled in Nashville, where he was befriended by Kurt Wagner, frontman of the chamber country group Lambchop. His debut album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, was released in 1998 to widespread critical acclaim. After receiving several guitar lessons from his uncle, Rouse began writing songs as an 18-year-old and molded himself into a skilled composer, eventually scoring a contract with the Rykodisc subsidiary Slow River. Music was one of the few constants in a life filled with new towns, new schools, and new friends, and he took comfort in bands like the Smiths and the Cure. Rouse later settled in Spain and explored the country's musical traditions, although his songwriting continued to exhibit the summery, rootsy appeal of his earlier work.Īs a child, Rouse spent time in California, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Georgia, and Arizona. He paid tribute to his birthplace on his 1998 debut, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, and later explored the influence of his adopted home state, Tennessee, with 2005's Nashville. Born in Nebraska, Rouse moved to various cities throughout his childhood and subsequent musical career, driven at first by his father's military career and later by his desire to take inspiration from different environments. Known for his introspective folk-pop and worldly perspective, Josh Rouse has built a reputation as a critically acclaimed and perennially reliable singer/songwriter.