Kathleen Edwards’s Canadian accent is showing on her new album “Asking for Flowers”, not in her voice but in the stories she tells. Edwards populates her songs with darkly flawed, but highly relatable characters whose stories spill across the U.S./Canadian border. From the opening song “Buffalo” (with its border control) through “Oh Canada” (not the national anthem) to the final song “Goodbye, California”, her third album presents an unforgettable road trip along the 49th parallel.
Since her debut in 2003, Edwards has been favorably compared to Tom Petty and on “Asking for Flowers” she gets one of the Heartbreakers (Benmont Tench) to join her already crack touring band that includes her husband, Colin Cripps on guitar. Her smoky voice takes on a different character study as each song tells another sordid tale of love, deceit, war and even murder. The most moving is “Alicia Ross” sung from the perspective of a young woman who went missing in Toronto in 2005 sparking a highly publicized five week hunt that ended when a neighbor confessed to killing her. Edwards sings “he took me Mamma so I could never tell you about it.” Equally compelling is “Oil Man’s War” about a young couple on the run which continues a theme she began on her earlier albums with “Six O’clock News” and “In State.” Her sense of humor comes through on “I make the Dough, You get the Glory” a song dedicated to her band members whom she compares to “The Great One” while she is “Marty McSorely.”
All hockey references aside, this is Kathleen Edwards’ best album so far. They call the type of music she plays Americana, but this Canadian is one of its most promising practitioners.
Listen for songs from Kathleen Edwards’ album “Asking For Flowers” all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box” on Hampton Roads public radio 89.5 WHRV Monday