Rose Cousins

The gentle heart of P.E.I.-born singer-songwriter Rose Cousins shines through in every note of her first full-length album, If You Were For Me. After two EPs and guest vocal spots on recordings by artists from Matt Mays to the Heavy Blinkers, Cousins has come into her own with an album full of tidy arrangements that highlight both her forthright lyrics and her pure, unaffected voice, which twinkles like the stars on a clear winter night. Cousins is most compelling when she leans towards bluegrass on songs like "Dance If You Want To” and the little galloper "Edmonton,” but her fresh, soapy folkiness is appealing throughout the whole of this nice little disc. Recorded at CBC’s Studio H in Halifax, it’s a lovely little low-key affair that ought to push her one step closer to a place among musicians such as Alison Krauss and Sarah Harmer.