Songwriting veteran Josh Rouse has released nearly 20 records since his 1998 debut, yet this past October’s Museums and Women once again proved that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. The artist’s debut for New West Records saw him reconnect with producer Brad Jones after the two collaborated on Rouse’s timeless 2003 chamber-pop time capsule 1972 for a more observational work inspired by the songwriter’s people-watching fantasies while on the road over the years.
Set up in Hendersonville, Tennessee—the “home of Johnny Cash (or close to the home of Johnny Cash),” as Rouse notes—the artist filmed a “Neighborhoods” set where he performed two of the record’s tracks within a local greenspace. “Walton Ferry Arboretum is a nice little wooded area with a one-mile walking loop that not a lot of people know about,” Rouse explains. “I enjoy spending time walking in nature and reflecting, so it seemed like a good place to film.”
As for the song selections, he adds: “‘Spring’ was about as natural as songwriting gets for me. I wrote it pretty much in real time, making only a few subtle changes to the lyrics afterward. ‘Wanderlust’ is a song I think a lot of troubadours can relate to. I’m certainly aware of having that nomadic gene myself. I chose both songs because they work well with just guitar and vocal, the way they were originally written.”
Check out his performance of both tracks below, and stream Museums and Women here.
