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Album Details

• Artist: Kathleen Edwards
• Album: Failer
• Label: Zoe
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2004-01-09

This album came out much earlier this year and it's only now that I have gotten around to checking it out. While mags like Rolling Stone were claiming Failer to be one of the best albums of the year back in January, you knew that something was up. Especially seeing that Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian. Listening to this album after a bit of a disappointing Lucinda Williams album earlier in the year was actually a treat. I am a huge Williams fan and even after the first song I felt I was in for a treat. "Six O'Clock News" fires on all cylinders, giving you a great idea of what to expect from Kathleen. On "One More Song The Radio Won't Like" (a true statement about the style of music that Edwards' plays) she uses a lyrical phrasing mimicking fellow Canadian Neil Young and ends up with one of the many highlights of the album. The thing with Kathleen is that she showcases a diverse Americana influence on these brief 40 minutes and 10 songs. "Hockey Skates" is a track that I'm sure Lucinda Williams wished she wrote but it is "Westby" where the Williams comparisons pay off. When you hit "The Lone Wolf" you swear that Edwards is indeed singing a Neil Young song but the credits reveal that this is definitely not the case. There are pop elements on here as every great Americana album should have. Kathleen has a knack for writing heartfelt songs that reach out to you in so many ways; some you can relate to and others she describes with such detail that you completely understand. My attention will turn towards Kathleen Edwards rather than Lucinda Williams over the next few years to watch her bloom and mature. Jim Bryson, another blossoming Canadian act has his voice and guitar all over Failer. This is a fantastic debut.

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