Rooster Blackspur - Brand New Start
Contributed by Joshua Fryfogle
Rooster Blackspur, originally from the Mat-Su Valley, now belongs to the road. She left Alaska in 2010, to pursue a path that isn’t for everyone. Society needs artists and troubadours to tell our stories and store our memories in a collective way that we can all celebrate. Music isn’t just a convenient way to pass the time, it’s something that connects us to the past, as we sing along to melodies that were composed before.
Brand New Start is a touching testament to the power of song, and the sacrifice it takes to coax those memorable songs from the ether. We all live out those feelings, those human struggles, that so often get captured by songsmiths like Rooster, but there are some of us who absolutely need to manifest that human condition into art and culture. Rooster does this.
The album starts with the title track, showcasing a production quality that is hard to achieve as an independent artist with limited resources and a demanding touring schedule. The second track, “Heavy Stone”, has a weight of its own. It’s profound and touching, and leaves you wishing it didn’t end. I felt chills within 30 seconds. “New Mexico” evokes a familiar feeling, like Marty Robbins’ many masterpieces, but transcends that tradition in a new way.
The whole record is something special, something that doesn’t come overnight. By the time she gets to the song “Rise Up”, Rooster had me feeling like I could do more than I do, be more than I am at the moment... When she sings about “Unholy Saints”, she revisits the sentiment she first explores in “Heavy Stone”, reminding the listener of her humanity, and our own. Continuity.
Inspirational, without being preachy or pushy, Brand New Start is an encouragement as much as a piece of sonic art. Writing about music is like singing about grammar; my words cannot do justice to what Rooster Blackspur captured in these songs. I encourage you to seek it out, stream it, or tune in to 95.5 The Pass, where I’ve added several of my favorite tracks into regular rotation.