01. The Darkness
02. The Shell
03. One Way
04. What I See
05. All The Stars
06. Go First
07. For The Best
08. This Light
09. If I Should Fall Behind
Limited Edition Bonus Tracks
10. All The Time It Takes To Wait
11. White Daisies

Rose Cousins is another artist from Halifax who enjoys a reputation in Canadian roots music circles, but who has yet to make much of a splash outside of the country. Up until now, she’s spent a lot of time supporting other artists such as the Juno winning performer, Joel Plaskett in his touring band or working in a group setting with Jill Barber and Meaghan Smith on a Christmas album, ‘A New Kind of Light’, to devote much time to her own career. As a result her own solo work has not received the attention that her talent merits. Hopefully, that’s about to change with her third album, ‘We Have Made a Spark.’

Like Lucinda Williams and Mary Gauthier, Rose Cousins writes and performs songs that fit loosely into the country music genre but are not bound or hemmed in by its clichés. Her lyrics are close to the bone, reflecting a sense of loss, regret and forbearance without ever wallowing in the temptations and torpor of sentimentality that sink so many similar efforts. A single listen to the opening song ‘The Darkness’ with its deep and confident vocals riding over thumping banjo and bass lines should be enough for listeners to know that Rose Cousins has something special going on. With ‘We Have Made a Spark’, Rose Cousins proves she has one of the strongest and most emotive new voices on the country scene that when combined with the challenging, raw and uncompromising subject matter her songs reflect, are responsible for one of the most engaging albums of the year so far. Full of pain and hope, ‘We Have Made a Spark’ is an unexpectedly stunning album that begs to be heard.
 
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