Track Listing

1. Six O’Clock News
2. One More Song the Radio Won’t Like
3. Hockey Skates
4. The Lone Wolf
5. 12 Bellevue
6. Mercury
7. Westby
8. Maria
9. National Steel
10. Sweet Lil’ Duck

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29120 in Music
• Released on: 2003-01-14
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
This young Canadian singer-songwriter delivers a sucker punch of an American debut. While it may take a few listens for some of the material to sink in, Kathleen Edwards plainly has attitude to burn and a killer band to back it up. As a rootsy artist who sings about sexual attraction and betrayal with a languid breathiness, she inevitably has been tagged a younger Lucinda Williams, but it would make as much sense to describe her as an alt-country Ani DiFranco or a female Ryan Adams. What's most powerful in her music, however, seems to come from a deeper, more personal place than the study of other artists: from the violent climax of "Six O' Clock News" to the bitter resignation of "Hockey Skates" to the buoyantly rocking resilience of "12 Bellevue" to the offhand sensuality of "Westby." Plainly, she's unconcerned with ruffling feathers, titling one number "One More Song the Radio Won't Like" and elsewhere asking the musical question "Do you think your boys' club will crumble just because of a loudmouth girl?" --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Wonderful record well deserving of the accolades.
It's as if Kathleen Edwards took the best elements of several of her contemporaries and made them her own. Her keening voice evokes Laura Cantrell, but she's a far better singer in terms of phrasing, body and personality. Her country-tinged arrangements nod to both The Wooden Stars and Blue Rodeo, and her witty, observant lyrics sometimes remind me of Sarah Harmer.

Edwards' gift is to make simplicity beautiful. I can't think of anybody else right now who can make a dead-simple, repetitive melody as "Six O'Clock News" work, and work so marvellously. "Hockey Skates" hangs its spare arrangements on a terrific yet basic guitar line, but played with relish. That vocal ad lib which opens "The Lone Wolf", the surprisingly gutsy electric guitar of "12 Bellevue" and the multitracked acoustic strums of "Westby" are all examples of the imaginative yet deceptively simple touches which make the songs great.

The great playing and arrangements on this record definitely help, making the most out of simple country-rock elements, and Edwards' singing is very engaging, often careless of pitch like Neil Young and early Sarah Harmer, but always expressive and fitting to the song.

From time to time, an artist is hyped simply because s/he is better than the rest. Kathleen Edwards is one such artist, and if the media hype helps people discover her music, all the better.

In Danger of Being Over-Hyped
Being dubbed as one of the upcoming year's "Ten Artists to Watch," by a magazine like Rolling Stone is a double-edged sword for an up-and-comer like Kathleen Edwards. Yeah, the publicity boost is a great jump start for a career, but if your performance fails to meet the raised expectations you can quickly be buried by it. Calling her debut album "Failer" might be one way to temper the hype, but Edwards does have the kind of talent as a songwriter and performer that could allow her break through to the big time.

All that said, "Failer" is a strong album that falls a tad short of being a classic. Edwards has been labelled at "alt-country" artist in the mode of Lucinda Williams, but she is a rock an roller at heart. Her songs are tough, both lyrically and musically. My favorite moment comes during the song "Westby" in which she sings to an older married lover, "I don't think your wife would like my friends."

The album kicks off with the hummable but harrowing "Six O'Clock News," establishing the tone right away. The next track, "One More Song the Radio Won't Like" can be interpreted referring to the difficulty alt-country artists have in getting airtime or yet another attempt to quell those pesky expectatations. From there Edwards keeps up the groove, alternating ballads and rockers, some of which work better than others. If she can keep developing as an artist, there is no reason to believe that she won't soon be on the level of the likes of Emmylou Harris or Lucinda.

Overall, a strong debut from a young artist who has a lot to live up to.

Sarah Harmer's younger sister
For a more thorough review of this album, or for many other reviews check out http://twowaymonologues.blogspot.com

I like to think of Kathleen Edwards as Sarah Harmer's younger sister. They're both talented, young, female, Canadian singer-songwriters (how do you like them adjectives?). They're both working the pared-down songs, with their voices and an acoustic guitar being the main ingredients in each composition. They're both under the same manager. And they're both curly-heads, which supports my genetic theory.

If Kathleen Edwards is Sarah Harmer's musical little sister, she's the scrappy younger sibling. Both singers write about relationships gone wrong, but Edwards' are the sort that probably wouldn't have gone right in the first place, judging from the older men, slick music industry types and general drunks that pop up on her debut album, Failer. And given the frequent mentions of alcohol and bars, Edwards has lived a little harder than her fairly upper class childhood (her father is a Canadian diplomat) might indicate.

Failer is a strong debut album. It sounds like it came from an artist years older than Edwards, who was in her early 20s when it was released. First albums from young female artists are often drenched in pathos, filled with sad, victimized tales of lovers who done wrong and boys that got away. Edwards works some of that in -- she's wanting someone she can't have for one reason or another ("12 Bellvue") or trying to get rid of someone who won't leave her alone with her misery and her beer ("Hockey Skates").

When you consider that Edwards only started writing songs shortly after she finished high school, Failer's maturity is even more impressive. This is one of those rare albums where you don't have to skip a track. The songs seem simple on the first couple of listens -- and they are, in the best kind of way -- but the more you play the album, the more you notice the little touches that make them special. After great reviews, lots of touring and some good buzz at South by Southwest, Edwards is releasing a new album on March 1, 2005. Based on the strength of this recording, I'll be buying it on release day.