| After a three-year hiatus to catch up on life in her native Ontario, Kathleen Edwards has done nothing to separate herself from the small pool of North America's fast-rising songwriters, in which she is a deeply immersed member. Her third album continues her clear-minded, open-hearted lyricism, though with a ripeness that comes from years on the road and years more to reflect. Edwards remains in a tug-of-war with matters of the heart, and she's not afraid slyly to nudge the opposite side. "I'm a Ford Tempo (and) you're my Maserati," she sings in "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory." It's a get-lost love song similar in tone to "The Cheapest Key," which finds the storyteller alphabetizing her romantic tribulations. Even the gorgeous melody of the title song is offset by the concession that a simple bouquet is not too much to ask in return. As the record's co-producer, Edwards has assembled a cracker-jack studio band (led by Heartbreakers' keyboardist Benmont Tench and pedal steel virtuoso Greg Leisz), and she turns it loose on "Oh Canada," a nod to her home nation, and "Oil Man's War," which speculates that a permanent trip to that country may be a viable alternative to life south of the border. --Scott Holter |
