Kathleen Edwards

I like the album a lot. "Sure as Shit" is a winner.

I like that Failer album, I bought it when I saw her in a support slot a couple years ago.

Did a roundup of lady singer-songwriter folkie albums for the Voice recently, and hers was my favorite, but I still have mixed feelings about it:

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0810,351018,351018,22.html

"the cheapest key" was the one that jumped out at me first time through, so i put that on my ipod and have mostly ignored the rest of the album. but maybe i should give it another chance.

My big problem is with her voice -- when she's not slurring, the timbre gets too...I dunno, dulcet or something.

Well I don't know this album ye're all talking about

hey roxymuzak, i have one of her albums in some big mp3 disc book in my car. i like her, at least based on that album. "in state" is a good tune.

"the cheapest key" was the one that jumped out at me first time

Yeah, me too, and it was also the first one that reminded me of Johnston.

video for "in state", which sucks because it's totally generic and the lyrics deserve something a little more specific.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MHjOPsYhNrM

It's a good song.

There's just something about those Canadians who make country-influenced music.

I actually can't STAND "The Cheapest Key." I like the rest of the album.

If they're comparable at all, I think I like the Laura Marling album more (Alas I Cannot Swim), but this Asking for Flowers album is pretty damn good. It's weird though, cause her name seems really familiar, but I can't figure out where I heard Kathleen Edwards before.

Oh. Nevermind. An Amazon search reminded me. I really liked Failer in 2003.

On the title track, she kinda sounds like Laura Cantrell on Humming by the Flowered Vine.

I usually try to avoid saying things like this, but she seems just like a female Freedy Johnston!

NY'ers get to choose between them tomorrow nite. But perhaps she's more like a female version of tourmate Dan Wilson?

I hear an echo of Lucinda Williams, but filtered through raw-boned Canadian prairie winters instead of Louisiana bayous. But she also has a "sound", something unique to her, which sometimes makes her songs sound dangerously similar and indistinct. Failer is still my favourite -- "6 O'clock News", "In State", "Hockey Skates," "Mercury", and "National Steel" all being standouts. What I love about her slurry, supple voice is an endearing frailty at the heart of some fairly transparent tough chick fronting.

(I've only heard clips from her new one.)

"In State" is one of those rare songs that manages to successfully fit a whole lot of plot, character, and atmosphere into a single song. It's like a Sopranos episode.

Melissa McClelland (who may be in her touring band -- she's at least playing with Luke Doucet, the opener) is really good in her own right. I'm susprised her '06 CD Thumbelina's One Night Stand never has been released in the U.S. -- it's basically in the Sarah Harmer template, but with much more ambition, scale, and tunefulness.

It's currently in between Kathleen, Laura Marling, and Vampire Weekend for most played tracks this year on my iTunes. According to the counter, I like Buffalo, Oil Man's War, The Cheapest Key the most. (Oddly, tho I remember all the lyrics once the song starts playing - I can't remember which title goes to which song.)

My favorite is still "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory," though maybe I favorite because I can identify with the subject matter. It's one of my favorite songs about being in a touring band -- it's good (and rare) when songs about being a musician avoid self-hagiography.

I meant "though it may be my favorite because...", obv

I love love love Mercury and Westby.

Which is the one with the song about the incest-murder-thing?

Or rather, which song is the one about the...

Mercury is the Virgin Suicides condensed into three minutes, Westby is a brutally theatrical character study about a little bit on the side.

"Alicia Ross," it's a true story as well. xposts

"The Cheapest Key" is the alphabet song, of sorts. It's also her most energetic. I saw the video for it on one of the cable country music channels recently. It fit where the majority of her material does not. It sold the album for me, plus Back to Me. Not bad.

Right. So I love Alicia Ross. Great song. Very haunting, and reminds me of that Buffy Saint-Marie song about similar themes.

Her voice still bugs me.

"The Cheapest Key" is an alphabetish song, but I think its important to note that she only uses letters that correspond to musical keys.

Yes, teacher.

!

I love the LP BACK TO ME! almost all of it is terrific!

another song that even more amazingly crams a story in: 'Pink Emerson Radio'

I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory

my favourite as well.

Mine too, for the hockey stuff mainly (among other stuff), though I keep meaning to go back and relisten to the Neil Youngy one that everybody says they like so much. For some reason, it's never jumped out at me. Album is pretty good though -- probably the best of her three, though I don't own the first two anymore and therefore can't check. (I did like one hockey song she did earlier, however.)

Man, I don't catch hockey refs! What are they?

You're The Great One,
I'm Marty McSorley.

Ah, I figured, cause I had no idea who those were!

Failer is still my favourite -- "6 O'clock News", "In State", "Hockey Skates," "Mercury", and "National Steel" all being standouts

Yeah, that was the other hockey one. And I liked "6 O'Clock News" at the time. Maybe should've kept it.

More about her on the Can We Talk About West Coast Country Rock etc thread and Rolling Country

Getting really into 'Asking for Flowers'...

Mercury is perfect, a sad bruised thing.

Listened to this in my car for a month, and "Sure As Shit" emerged as my favorite. The one that says "Believe me, all the days you're unsure/Believe in me, I don't want to anymore" is beautiful and I can't really listen to it without tearing up but it's slightly, ever so slightly...corny?

The flirting with corniness is what makes her really good, I think. Flirting in general, even. You get that unexpected tear in the corner of your eye and you fight it, feeling naively self-conscious, but then you just admit that it's very good songwriting and even better execution and you're hooked. I'm starting to think Asking for Flowers might just be her best now.

Asking for Flowers I definitely agree is her best. My mother compares her to Neil Young, and I think she's half-right (she's talking about his Harvest-era material). Just some drop-dead gorgeous stuff that also - at least for me - works on a few levels. It just wrecks me emotionally, or sometimes it's just pretty to listen to, and sometimes I dig it like I dig Dylan, as someone who I can appreciate their cleverness and their wit and their playfulness (with Edwards, way more playfulness than the first two).

Yeah, she reminds me of Neil a lot, too.

Hadn't thought of it, but yeah, I can see that. In the surprising emotional connection sense. Even if you're only half listening, it can just sneak up on you, which I find Neil can do as well. Maybe a crafty Canadian stealth thing?

i didn't like asking for flowers at first, but have come around to it ("oh canada" is a standout). whereas back to me grabbed me immediately, especially "copied keys." clearly she has a thing for writing about keys.

Yeah, she reminds me of Neil a lot, too.

Speaking of which...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXghGA9imzg

I can't really listen to it without tearing up

"Sure As Shit" does this for me, bad scansion, goofy denim king and all

i love kathleen edwards

― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, July 22, 2015 11:03 AM (five years ago) bookmarkflaglink

"birds on the feeder" kicking my ass

"take it with you when you go" is the best song ever written

great album imo

I'm afraid to listen to this in case it's just OK but I will rip the bandaid off later today

I know what you mean, but I am going on in!

so yeah, this is great

what a crass misstep voyageur was, but she's back on top form with this one

I don't get what's wrong with Voyageur, unless you hear way more of Bon Iver in it than I do.

I haven't listened to it in years, but iirc it was kind of more amorphous and atmospheric?

i have "hard on everyone" running on a loop in my head

"crass misstep" is not fair to Voyageur at all. especially the word crass.

it has a lot of good songs, a couple snoozers, the production may be questionable, but she'd made three albums of roots-rock (this is not totally fair to Flowers, but whatever), can't blame her for wanting to try something different.

i think it's better than Back To Me, but even if you say it's her worst album of the four, it's a lot better worst than most artists, imo.

thank you for this revive, I finally listened to her & I love her music!

anyone who's just getting into her now, for the love of god seek out Asking for Flowers.

Haven't heard the new one yet but agree Asking for Flowers was the best of her first four. I get misty eyed in some of the quieter songs. Consider it one of the better alt-country albums of the 00s.

I listened to the kathleen edwards essentials on apple music & it was fabulous

I think the first album is perfect and the second album sort of improves on that one without necessarily being better, if you can square that circle.

Wait, I'm thinking of "Asking for Flowers." Yeah. "Asking for Flowers" and the first one are perfecto.

I adore Failer (six o'clock news, hockey skates) and the Cry Cry Cry material / Shindell collabs.

Have barely scratched the surface of anything since, alas

Cry Cry Cry is Shindell with Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplanksy, no? Unless I missed something (only know their ‘98 album).

Oops, my bad. What was I thinking? Possibly drinking.

HOWEVER I know she did do backing vocals or was a touring vocalist on something at least some of those folks did. Crud. Hang on, I'll find it. Or not.

One of the worst humans I know is a huge Kathleen Edwards fan. Probably can't bring myself to get over that hurdle.

Dar Williams... that's a name I certainly haven't heard for 17 lifetimes. Anyway, came here to say this album's sounding great.

god asking for flowers is so good, basically as good as failer, not sure why i keep forgetting this

"Goodnight, California" is the stunner on there for me: a guitar epic, in feels a sequel to "Cortez the Killer".

"F is my favorite letter, as you know ."

i think voyageur has better songs than the smotheringly shit production allows you to hear at first. I like empty threat ("in the city i once said "never" i'm learning to say "never, never, never ever"" is a line that stings)

I think of “pink champagne” a lot

"Going to Hell", "House Full of Empty Rooms", "Chameleon/Comedian" and "A Soft Place to Land" are all mighty fine.

This new album is great.

She’s the absolute best tbh

I will genuinely give this a listen soon but I just wanted to say once more that "scared at night" is the best song ever

wow the second half of this kicks the everloving shit out of the first, which for me was mostly pleasant throat-clearing

From the start Kathleen Edwards has been one of the few songwriters really able to stop me in my tracks, to all but literally incapacitate me, and this new album is no exception. I can barely make it through a song because I want to start them over from the beginning again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyLiL243X9g

aw Jim Bryson <3

ditto

And by the way, I guess that means Colin Cripps is back in the band?

Speaking of whom, was this one ever posted?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MreeHyNDZiA

Or this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBPrBdwnqYc

There is a another Quitters video on FB of a different performance.

I can just barely do it. Can't put my finger on why, but I can't think of another songwriter who so consistently breaks my heart.

So glad you called @MarenMorris.@SXMOutlaw #TotalFreedom pic.twitter.com/rBAq0c9lcy

— Kathleen Edwards (@kittythefool) August 25, 2020

I can spot your kind a million miles away

Lol etc at the NPR description accompanying this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW6WICBscx4

the pet grieving one-two punch "Ashes to Ashes" -> "Who Rescued Who" is some amazing sequencing (not to mention very helpful to me recently)

it was driving me crazy but I finally realized what "Glenfern" reminds me of: Frente's cover of of Bizarre Love Triangle

now I just need to determine what very popular 90s song the guitar part in "Options Open" reminds me of. Anybody?

This album is ok. Better than Voyager but nowhere near Failer or Asking for Flowers. Too many twee songs about pets, for one thing.

the pet grieving one-two punch "Ashes to Ashes" -> "Who Rescued Who" is some amazing sequencing (not to mention very helpful to me recently)

― geoffreyess, Saturday, August 29, 2020 5:58 PM (three months ago) bookmarkflaglink

these songs come out of nowhere and kick my ass emotionally

Listening to Asking for Flowers again right now. Really hitting the spot.

It's a beautiful record.

"Alicia Ross"

stops me in my tracks every time

that third verse