From the moment Josh Rouse started releasing records, people have been trying to lump him in with all those dopey alt-country bands who think they’re creating an air of authenticity by growing beards and using sepia tones on their websites. The problem with that, of course, is that the majority of Rouse’s material has very little in common with the alt-country genre. He’s always been more in tune with the AM radio, white-boy soul vibe, and while his recent move to Spain does wreak some stylistic havoc from time to time, Subtítulo is pretty much more of the same. For the most part, his throaty, boyish vocals and his everyday observations are right on, but occasionally everything seems a bit too obvious. He has a tendency to eschew cleverness in favor of directness, which is fine in theory, but when it means embracing every single grade-school rhyme that presents itself as a possibility, it’s kind of lame. Overall Subtítulo is a decent addition to Rouse’s discography, but it also proves that he’s left quite a bit of room for improvement.
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