Customer Reviews

Failer

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Our friends to the north in Canada have been known to give us some of the best artists to grace the pop music world, from the Guess Who to Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell. Kathleen Edwards, in my opinion, can be added to that ambit with her debut album FAILER, an album that must rank as one of the best for the year 2003.

Edwards has been compared more than a few times to Lucinda Williams, which is heady praise indeed. But she is also her own woman, with an approach that combines alternative country and 1960s-style folk-rock along with stark modern lyrics, and a sardonic sense of humor. There's good social comment on "Six O'Clock News", and a big (but well-deserved) punch to American corporate radio on the ironically titled "One More Song The Radio Won't Like." There is also the use of one off-color word in the track "National Steel" which shows off a true acid side of this new Canadian gal.

Kathleen is someone well worth watching for in the future; hopefully, American radio stations, be they country or adult-alternative, will latch onto her.

Kathleen Edwards is being compared to Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Whiskeytown, etc. In a sense, given that she's new on the scene, she deserves more credit than that. No, no, I'm not saying she's better. While I would agree that she shares a similar sensibility to these artists, there's a distinctive voice in her songwriting and delivery. She gets more credit, in my book, for not just copying folks out there who have gone before her. Precious few artists seem to be capable of that these days.

Although I'm always skeptical (with good reason) when the name dropping begins, Failer turns out to be a fantastic recording. I've got my fingers crossed, while I listen to Westby over and over again, that this is just the first of many wonderful discs from Kathleen.

Kathleen Edwards definitely has talent. "Failer" can fit in smoothly on a CD changer among alt country contemporaries. Being Canadian is a nice, counter-culture touch...most cuts were recorded in Toronto and boast primarily Canadian talent. Edwards hooks you from the start, with the catchy guitar licks that open the genuine tear-jerker, "6 O'Clock News", and her gritty, young but not-born-yesterday-mister voice evokes a smoky Emmylou Harris or a less hardened Lucinda Williams.

The tragic flaw? The more I listen to this CD, the more it seems I'm hearing the same song over and over. The melodies are invariant, if catchy. Edwards' songwriting abilities are stronger on the lyric side, but still dip into cliche on occasion. Hopefully future offerings will show variety worthy of this young woman's clear potential.

Kathleen Edwards' voice is breathy and nasal, her songs earnest and ironic at the same time. The irony checks the sincerity of her lyrics, keeps them from becoming anything too cute. In general, Failer, Edwards' debut, nicely shines her rough-edged tunes with a slick polish.

Edwards' tunes amount to pre-Uncle Tupelo-sounding country rock; in fact, little on this album actually indicates that it is a product of the 21st century. For all we know from just a casual listen, this album could have been made in the '80s.

Edwards -- a Canadian -- toured the US last fall, playing solo acoustic sets. At those shows, the emphasis was definitely on the songs. That's the emphasis on Failer, too, with the deluxe rock'n'roll band set-up, guitar solos and all, and an occasional banjo to kick up the country feel. The music fits, but the band plays things a little on the safe side and makes no extended excursions into unpredictability.

Failer begins with "Six O'Clock News," a story-song narrated by a woman whose lover is engaged in a guns-drawn standoff with the police. The irony is that the police prevent her from telling her beau the news that might calm him down -- that she is pregnant with his child -- and so he ends up riddled with bullets, "dead on the avenue." At the end, Edwards' persona tells us, "I can't feel my broken heart," but at this point we can forgive her for the cliché; after all, she's been through enough.

What follows are mostly mid-tempo tunes, generally well-written but traversing familiar ground (porches, high school parking lots, and, of course, the usual array of barrooms and bedrooms). Many listeners will appreciate Edwards' clever approach to what passes for romance in certain circles. In "12 Bellevue", she sings, "I don't want to be your friend / Just take off your clothes and get into my bed"; in "Westby" she informs a lover, "I don't think your wife would like my friends." Lamentably absent from the album is Edwards' cover of AC/DC's "Money Talks," one of the highlights of her live shows.

By now, you may have heard that both NPR and Rolling Stone have tagged Edwards as an artist to watch. Watch her, indeed. Failer could be the proverbial flash in the pan, the title an unintended prediction of what's to come. But that's not likely.

Matt Patterson
Junkmedia.org Review

I've now read several reviews -- including one on this page -- that accuse Kathleen Edwards of "blatantly imitating" Lucinda Williams. That's a knee-jerk comparison. Kathleen slurs some of her vocals -- the resemblance to Lucinda ends there. I have not heard a single song on "Failer" that reminds me of anything on a Lucinda album, and I have them all. Kathleen has written and performed an aggressively individual song cycle. Every tune works. If you have to compare her to someone, think Aimee Mann and Sarah Harmer. But listen to this album on its own terms; it deserves that.

some have complained about kathleen edwards' "unconventional" voice, so if you're not down with a little grit in your singers' voices, then go back to listening to celine dion and mariah. just take into account that edwards' voice kind of sneaks up on you, and before you know it you'll love the slightly off-kilter harmonizing. i love it, but my biases lie with "unconventional" singers like jay farrar, greg dulli, thom yorke, and believe it or not, *the* rap music...

anyway, ms. edwards has put together quite an album. i tend to skip "sweet little duck" and "lone wolf" (a little to "metaphor-y" for me) but they aren't bad songs, i'd just rather hear the others more.

to clarify another comment i see on the site, i don't think the lyrics are any more cliched or corny than anything else i've heard. maybe "lone wolf" veers into the corn field... but try to make an album without using a cliche; they're pretty much imbedded in popular music. i think the lyrics have a bit of an edge. switch it around and put it in a man's voice, and the content is pretty expected, but coming from a young woman, well, it's a different story.

the music is excellent. great backing band. i especially like "12 bellevue" with the horns and the baritone sax. very nice. "six o'clock news" rocks as well. you have to listen to this stuff, it's great.

in conclusion, this record easily makes my top 5 for the year. it's fresh, pretty catchy, and doesn't get old after a few listens. if you don't mind a singer who doesn't have a cookie-cutter voice, and like country-tinged rock, i'm confident you'll appreciate kathleen edwards' "failer."

She might be named Kathleen Edwards. I think the song writing style is a perfect blend of those two artists. She writes about failed relationships, not being accepted in the "boys" club that run so much of the music industry, not being able to get her songs played on the radio, having an affair with an older married man, too much drink and drugs, and you have no doubt she has sufferred heartache, a thread that runs through most of Lucinda Williams songs. But wait...because she also strikes back. In the song "Westby" she sings "If you weren't so old, I'd probably keep you/ if you weren't so old I'd tell all my friends/ but I don't think your wife would like my friends." In "One More Song the Radio Won't Like," she sings "Reel it in and shut your mouth/reputations are in doubt/write a hit so I can talk you up/ no one likes a girl who won't sober up." Ryan Adams writes a lot like that-songs about being hurt, but he finds a way to poke a finger in the eye. She does that in virtually every song and she sings like she REALLY means it! The band is excellent; they play rock with a country edge. My favorite song is the opener "Six O'Clock News." It's a catchy tune steeped in irony-the boyfriend seems to snap, he's holed up, he's got a gun, and the one thing that might save him is hearing that his girlfriend is pregnant. Alas, she is not allowed near him to deliver the news, and he ends up dead, all over the evening news. Potent songwriting! Highly recommended, and I think this is an artist to watch.