JC Love Field

For those in the crowd just counting the days until we can get rid of the pop/classical divide, Mikel Rouse throws his sledgehammer at the wall with a new album quite appropriately dedicated to both Steve Reich and Brian Wilson. Squint one eye and it seems to be all pop lyrics and pulses, squint the other and the careful layering and unique pitch choices show elements of a more new music composerly approach. The opening track, “JC Love Field,” demonstrates the concept quite neatly. It has the beats, the rhymes, the “baby”s in the lyrics, but then the harmonies get all wacky and the rhythm starts to collapse in on itself and you know it’s not quite the Casey Kasem countdown that’s coming through your speakers.

—MS