Light and darkness have always guided the best records—think Jimmy Page’s light fretwork and heavy riffing. We Have Made a Spark, the new LP from singer-songwriter Rose Cousins, sounds nothing like Zep’s metal sludge, yet similarly uses multiple sonic shades and refracted imagery to create an extremely polished album. With piano playing that recalls the mournful progressions of Bruce Hornsby and the atmospheric slide of Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, We Have Made a Spark is a modern folk record that rivals the LPs that inspired it (including Bruce Springsteen, whom she covers on “If I Should Fall Behind”). If there was an album that could launch Cousins into the mainstream, this is it.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2012.