Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers If anyone recording today is likely to produce an Americana masterwork - the next Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, maybe - my bet's on Edwards. This release, her third, isn't that great deliverance, though. But it's a step forward toward maturation, in which the whole builds well beyond the sum of its parts. Her debut Failer was a blast of roughened folk-rock that evoked waves of empathy and cynicism. The follow-through had a spit personality, sometimes dialed down, like too many alt-country thrushes, but with occasional breakouts into subtle portraiture and storytelling adventure ("Pink Emerson Radio"). Now Edwards has her complementary skills in fine balance. She's still the best woman performer for drawing inspiration from Neil Young at his most flailing ("Oh Canada"). There's again a steadfast refusal to sentimentalize, counterweighted with the dryly whimsical cataloguing of family history and household objects (including a mortally wounded cat). And then you get to pieces like the realistically frightening "Alicia Ross" and more where strings, voice and guitar are blended to perfection. This stuff's emotionally rugged but very right. T.E. Lyons leoweekly.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews