Kathleen Edwards

For whatever reason—and possibly a number of them—Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards shifts her gaze on her third album, turning more outward than inward. Whereas her past albums, 2002's Failer and 2005's Back to Me (both highly recommended), found their footing with exposed-nerve songs of damaged relationships, Asking For Flowers shows a recurring sociopolitical edge.

Part of Edwards' considerable appeal is that she excels at both hard-charging country-rockers and somber, last call ballads. Neil Young is a kindred spirit in more ways than one. The outside world weighs heavy throughout Asking For Flowers, regardless of tempo. "Oh Canada" is a fiery critique of the way in which society and the press continue to divide people along racial and economical lines, and sweep the underprivileged out of their consciences and off their front pages. "Alicia Ross" is a much more personal story about a Toronto woman murdered by her neighbor; Edwards paints a sympathetic portrait and her intentions are noble (all royalties for the song are being donated to a charity set up by the victim's parents), but, it must be said, the obligatory string quartet makes it one of the few overcooked moments on the album.

Edwards is joined by a crack bunch of session players, including husband Colin Cripps on guitar and Benmont Trench (of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers) on keyboards. If anything, the album feels a little too seasoned at times. But there's also a quiet grace to the album, exemplified by the acoustic ballad "Sure As Shit" and the hazy, seductive closer "Goodnight, California." And Edwards shows some wicked flashes of humor, as when she compares herself to the Gretzky-protecting hockey thug Marty McSorley on the lively "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory."

Sharing in the credit is producer Jim Scott, who also helmed Whiskeytown's Stranger's Almanac,, considered a gold standard of the alt-country genre. Asking For Flowers isn't quite a classic, but there's little question that Edwards has that sort of potential.

—Adam McKibbin
03.17.08

Kathleen Edwards' 2005 album Back to Me was the sort of record that grows and reveals new secrets each time you gave it a listen, so it's tempting not to trust immediate impressions after three spins of her next set, 2008's Asking for Flowers. But if one has to leap to a relative snap judgment, Edwards' new record sounds just as strong as its fine predecessor, and shows that she is gaining strength and confidence as a songwriter, qualities she hardly lacked before. Produced by Jim Scott and featuring a handful of top-notch American studio players (Benmont Tench, Greg Leisz), Don Heffington) alongside members of Edwards' Canadian road band (Colin Cripps, Jim Bryson), Asking for Flowers shows a broader range of colors than her first two albums (both lyrically and musically) than her earlier work. The playful wit of "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory" ("You're cool and cred like Fogerty/I'm Elvis Presley in the Seventies") and "The Cheapest Key" ("Here comes my softer side/And there it goes!") is livelier than her previous work, but the gravity of "Alicia Ross" (based on a true story of a murdered teenager) and "Oh Canada" (a rant against social injustice in her homeland) cuts deep into the heart, and "Oil Man's War" is a tale of a draft-age man fleeing to Canada during the Vietnam War that's affecting and sadly relevant. The music is beautifully rendered and moves with the emotional peaks and valleys with surety and grace. And when Edwards sings about love, as she does often, it's with a naked honesty that's genuinely touching and reinforced by the rough but sweet tone of her voice. Back to Me was the work of a singer/songwriter well on her way to becoming a major artist; Asking for Flowers leaves no doubt that Kathleen Edwards has arrived and made an album that's funny, startling, poignant, and (once again) worthy of repeated play. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide