Josh Rouse The Best of the Rykodisc Years Review 5q43p

Think what Kurt Wagner would sound like if he spent less time in off-highway dustbowl taprooms and got a sun tan on the beach, and you're not far off the sound of Josh Rouse, a Nebraska born songwriter whose startling work rate means that, less than ten years into his career, we're presented with a 'Best Of' that comprises a giddy 32 tracks stretching from his debut EP in 1999 through to 2005.

It's a miasma of polished and sophisticated wheezing guitars and honey drenched vocals suited to the kind of day where you feel like wading into the California surf, but don't much fancy getting your Dolce & Gabana swim shorts wet. Tracks ease into each other like old friends getting slowly sozzled on the veranda with Rouse's voice, a smooth to the point of catatonic creation- purring through tongue in cheek white boy soul groove on Comeback (Light Therapy) and alt-country charisma packs a memorable punch on It's The Nighttime.

At times the squeaky clean sound of the privileged cocktail hour life (you can almost hear the martini glasses being clinked on tracks like Late Night Conversation) can get a little much. To listen to this on a winter's day in Britain can bring about elements of jealousy that might leave you itching to switch to a Stiff Little Fingers single. Rouse is an accomplished songwriter however and, despite the second disc clearly being a matter for obsessive's only (Christmas With Jesus anyone?), there's still plenty here to suggest that here is a songwriter whose talents deserve a wider audience.