KATHLEEN EDWARDS “Voyageur” (ZOE Records)

Kathleen Edwards is a singer songwriter from Ontario, Canada.
The daughter of a diplomat, Edwards grew up overseas. Raiding an older
brother’s record collection gave her a sharp appreciation for the music of
Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
By 2003, Edwards recorded her debut, Failer. It was met with
unanimous critical acclaim. The same reception greeted her second
and third efforts, Back To Me in 2005 and Asking For Flowers in 2008.
The style of those two records were the sort of rough-hewn Americana (or
alt.country) that echoed Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris.
Her latest release, aptly titled, Voyageur, takes her on a different
musical journey.
Two years in the making, Voyageur marked the end of Edwards’
marriage to musical collaborator Colin Crips. The disc was co-produced by Edwards and
Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver). The two musicians became a couple during the
recording process, so Voyageur could be rightly perceived as a “divorce”
record.
Edwards displays none of the acrimony and rancor of Marvin Gaye’s
infamous “divorce” epic Here My Dear. Edwards’ style is more like frank
reportage.
The first half of Voyageur candidly dissects the dissolution
of Edwards’ marriage. The opening track, “Empty Threat” is a propulsive
barn-burner spurred on by strumming acoustic guitar and a keening electric
guitar solo. The lyrics address new beginnings in the midst of personal heartache.
Both “A Soft Place To Land” and “Change The Sheets” dig in
to the break up in intimate detail. The former is a hushed piano driven
ballad aching with regret.
On the latter, it feels as though we are eavesdropping,
listening to lines like “Calling it quits, you think this is easy, I swear that
I hurt/ You can call in the jury, call it a catch without any strings attatched.”
The mood is languid until the instrumental break. The tempo shifts to a
martial cadence as Edwards marshals emotional fortitude. A soaring guitar
solo urges her forward to a resolute conclusion.
“Change The Sheets” floats anxious synths over a galloping beat
and darting guitar fills. It is a buoyant ode to new beginnings. The arrangement
and melody recall early 80s Fleetwood Mac.
“House Full Of Empty Rooms” renders the break up a fait accompli.
Over a sad but tender melody, Edwards sketches out the couple’s problems
beginning with “You don’t kiss me, not the way that I wish you would,”
and ending with “I don’t know you, The way that I thought I did.” It is
a devastating but graceful post-mortem anchored by soft piano arpeggios.
The tone shifts perceptively on the next two tracks.
“Mint” is a gritty stop-start waltz piloted by swaggering Stones-y guitars
and breathy back-up vocals. The lyrics detail the temptations and
possibilities of new love.
“Sidecar” positively crackles with the frisson of a ripening
romance. Edwards joyfully celebrates this long-awaited kinship.
“I was feeling so lost for so long, you were feeling so lost for so long.”
A kinetic backbeat and buzzy synths provide a giddy backdrop
to this tale of emotional connection and post-coital bliss.
Other stand-out tracks include the slow burn of
“Chameleon/Comedian.” “Pink Champagne” is a soulful and
eloquent recollection of her doomed wedding day. Finally, “Going
To Hell” juxtaposes an ethereal melody with dire lyrics of self-
recrimination. The song slowly builds to an apocalyptic crescendo
replete with an explosion of skronky guitars. If this is hell, it
sounds pretty rockin’!
Voyageur closes with the Spartan, “For The Record,”
a mea culpa set to music. Relying on an intimate set-up of electric
piano, Hammond B3 organ, plangent guitar chords and a lone kick-drum,
the song was recorded in just two takes.
Here, Edwards makes the case despite all the emotional,
soul searching hokey pokey, she’s really just a singer who loves
singing and writing songs. Norah Jones provides subtle backing vocals.
Voyageur succeeds in pushing Edwards out of her musical
comfort zone. The album combines personal, almost anguished
experience with richly textured and nuanced music. It is her most
rewarding effort to date.