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 ROSE 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.
Support from DIETRICH STRAUSE
Dietrich Strause is an American indie-folk songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in London. His fifth studio album You And I Must Be Out Of My Mind was released on Jeffrey Foucault’s Blueblade Records. Strause has spent over a decade weaving timeless melodies with heartbreaking narratives using his “virtuosic command of imagery” and “his knack for vivid, almost literary lyricism” (WBUR,Boston NPR). His songs have been described by Americana UK as “captivating and evocative” with his latest collection no exception. Each one is an exploration and discovery of loss, hope, desire, and disillusionment through images of love-worn soldiers, scrambled weathervanes, listless sailors, and drifting satellites lost in an open heart.
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Doors open 7pm. Music starts 8.30pm. The venue is mixed seated and standing. Tables are limited and available on a first come first served basis so, if you’d like a seat, we recommend arriving early!
