Back to Me
The standout cuts on this follow-up to Kathleen Edwards's highly praised debut,Failer, serve notice that the Canadian artist has no intention of remaining a cult favorite in the States. The opening "In State" evokes the anthem-like sweep ofTom Petty's "Refugee," complete with signature organ by the Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench, though its lyric of a prison-bound paramour smacks of déjà vu, Failure having opened with a similar narrative. The propulsive title track, with its irresistible double-entendre hook, deserves to be Edwards's breakthrough hit, while the yearning "Old Time Sake" and the buoyant yet bittersweet "Summerlong" expose a disarming tenderness underlying her tough-chick bravado. Over the course of the album, too much of the midtempo material sounds too much the same, more inspired lyrically than musically, failing to sustain the momentum of the opening tracks. The stripped-down intimacy of "Away" will likely rekindle comparisons toLucinda Williams, but this artist sounds eager to outgrow those.--Don McLeeseInfluences and ContemporariesWhiskeytown,Strangers AlmanacWhiskeytown,Faithless StreetSarah Harmer,You Were HereSarah Harmer,All of Our NamesLucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams,Car Wheels on a Gravel Road