PHOTOS
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BIO
Bravado is a record for those who struggle with loneliness and those wishing they had more time alone. It’s for those attempting to make their hearts go in more than one direction and those trying to make it go in just one. It’s for those who present a version of themselves to the world that doesn’t quite match how they feel inside. It’s for those who feel misunderstood or unseen. It’s for those who have a hard time saying what they feel, who hide or can’t let themselves off the hook. It’s for those asking, “is this it?” and questioning if the character they play in the movie of their lives is authentic or just a role they’ve accepted. It’s for those who have a hard time asking for help and for those desperate for and terrified of change.
“I think about how we're so disconnected. I get sucked into my phone and forget to go for a walk because of this sense of obligation that I have that convinces me to get as much work done as possible. It feels like we’re not connecting in person as much as we used to and that we may be the loneliest we've ever been. We're missing what's actually happening, like, the earth being on fire. We get caught in the spin of comparing our lives to social media depictions, false standards of a good life. I’ve been thinking about how we must be getting close to a breaking point."
For Cousins, this chapter is a personal and professional metamorphosis. She is in the producer chair, applying her years of experience, trusting her own ear and pulling thoughtfully from her network of talented colleagues.
“I booked some studio days in February with the intention of making a single and working with some Toronto based musicians I’d always wanted to including Joshua Van Tassel on drums, Robbie Grunwald on keys, Brian Kobayakawa on bass, Dean Drouillard on electric guitars and with Chris Stringer as engineer. Soon after I realized I was chasing a theme and a feeling I’d been pondering for months and it turned into a whole record of, perhaps, my best writing.”
The record is flanked by two distinct renditions of the same song, The Benefits of Being Alone/ The Reprise reinforcing the record's examination of emotional duality. The record starts in bravado’s swagger then drops us into The Fraud which wrestles with the desire to stay hidden and be seen. The Time Being (Impending Mortality Awareness Society), reminds and invites us to pay attention to what’s most important, to be present. The album lifts to its highest level of hope and most pop production in The Return (Love Comes Back), solidifying Cousins’ collaborative nature by recruiting an international choir of friends to join in at the end. The Lullaby (My Oldest Love) written with Tim Baker (Hey Rosetta), touches the desperate need for affirmation, The Benediction, a yearning for acceptance.
Rose Cousins’ newest offering, Bravado, is the sound of a heart trying to open. It explores the complication of emotion, its irrational tendencies and its wisdom. It invites us to feel the courage it takes to be vulnerable.
Bravado will be released worldwide February 21, 2020 on Outside Music.
ALBUM CREATIVE
VIDEOS
AWARDS
2021 JUNO Award - Contemporary Roots Album of the Year // 2021 East Coast Music Awards - Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year // 2018 JUNO Awards – nominated Songwriter of the Year // 2018 GRAMMY Awards – nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical // 2018 East Coast Music Awards – Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Folk Recording of the Year // 2018 International Folk Awards – nominated for Artist of the Year // 2017 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Americana Album of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year // 2017 The Coast’s Best of Halifax – Best Artist to Enjoy Quietly // 2013 JUNO Award – Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo // 2013 East Coast Music Awards – Songwriter of the Year, Solo Recording of the Year, Folk Recording of the Year // 2012 NPR’s Top 10 Folk & Americana Albums of the Year // 2012 Canadian Folk Music Award – Contemporary Singer of the Year // 2012 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Folk Record of the Year // 2012 Polaris Music Prize – Long List Nominated // 2011 East Coast Music Awards – Female Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year // 2011 Music PEI – Rooted to the Island Award // 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award – Contemporary Singer of the Year // 2008 East Coast Music Awards – Female Recording of the Year // 2007 Mountain Stage Newsong Contest Winner // 2007 Nova Scotia Music Awards – Best Folk Recording, Galaxie Rising Star Award // 2007 PEI Music Awards – Best Folk Recording, Female Vocalist of the Year
QUOTES
“Her ability to see through the pain and bleakness of the world to find the light that connects us all proves that she indeed has a fire that burns in her soul and catches to her music, art, and the world she’s so powerfully conscious of.” – No Depression
“The simplicity of these songs is deceiving; as sparse as they feel, her voice draws you in until you realize you are at the heart of the storm.” – The Guardian
“Cousins has a disarmingly fluid vocal tone and an ability to convey the most internalized emotions — disappointment, grief, resolve, forbearance — without an ounce of fuss.” – NPR Music
“deeply caresses her exquisite vocals through a dozen songs that form an exploratory, intimate meditation on the mysteries of being human: identity, fraility, relationships, the nature of love and spiritual connection” – LA Times
“When Rose Cousins sings she soars and swoops, never to show off but always in service to the song” – The Washington Post / AP
“Rose Cousins strips songs to their pointed and somber essence” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
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PAST TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
On-stage Interview with Suzanne Vega at Stanfest, 2019 // JUNO Songwriter’s Circle, 2018 // Special guest of Patty Griffin US, July/Aug 2018 // Special guest of Joe Henry: Thrum Tour through the US, December 2017 // Special guest of Ron Sexsmith & the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the Canada 150 celebrations in Nathan Phillips Square, 2017 // Special guest of Mary Chapin Carpenter through the US, October 2015 and June-November 2016 // Special guest of Lori McKenna, February 2015 // Special guest of Anais Mitchell, October 2014 // Special guest of Jann Arden album release tour, September 2014 // Woodford Folk Festival in Woodford, Australia, 2013