Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(72 customer reviews) 26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Wonderful record well deserving of the accolades.,
July 5, 2003 D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Failer (Audio CD)
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...Read more
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Sarah Harmer's younger sister,
December 30, 2004 Daniel Wolovick (Ontario) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Failer (Audio CD)
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...Read more
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful
In Danger of Being Over-Hyped,
January 29, 2003 Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Failer (Audio CD)
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...Read more
