Kathleen Edwards

It's only February, and Kathleen Edwards has already had quite a year. Appearances on David Letterman and Carson Daly, a Billboard top 20 debut, and Rolling Stone recently named her one of their Ten Artists to Watch in 2003. It's a relatively nice beginning for the twenty-four year old singer-songwriter from Canada; and her struggles to go from small town bar to The Late Show are all told though her descriptive and character driven storytelling lyrics. With despicable drunks, sorrowful breakups and adulterous affairs, her debut album Failer is an ironic celebration of hardship.

From the very first track "Six O'Clock News", it becomes immediately evident that Edwards is a truly gifted lyricist. The murderous tale twists and turns underneath her acoustic strides and Fred Guignon's slide guitar. Her slightly raspy, Aimee Mann style voice, clearly evokes the pain and strife the stories command. "Hockey Skates", perhaps the strongest on the album, is a soulful piece strengthened by lines such as ‘I am so sick of consequence and the look on your face'. Her imagery and alt-country style are reminiscent of Tom Petty, though she has even been referred to as the female Neil Young. Both are true in that she soulfully delivers a world of low-lit bars, morning drinking and old pick-up trucks. The simplicity and openness of the words filter into many of the song structures, though the album has it's share of full energy Crazy Horse rockers as well. The feedback enriched rocker "Bellevue" showcases a full horn section, and "Maria" winds out three guitarists over lines like "pop some pills and feel the same, could you make it all right?"

As an introduction to the world, Failer is a fine description of her rural Ottawa experiences. Rich with darkness, emotion and truth, it is a gritty reflection on her early days, full of sleeping in cars and playing to near empty clubs. We can only hope that the bright lights and big city experiences that inevitably lay ahead won't taint her abilities to sing from the heart

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