The Kat comes back kathleen edwards really hits her stride with back to me. flying on the wings of an ubiquitous electric slide guitar, a distinctive if quavering voice, and her acerbically accurate songwriting, the ottawa songwriter has crafted what sounds suspiciously like a canadian roots rock classic. like blue rodeo, sarah harmer or jim bryson at their best, edwards conjures what she needs from the sonic history of rock 'n' roll, pop, country and folk, then filters it through her own lyrical sensibilities to tell her story. in edwards' world, romance is invariably messy, the parent of ugly consequence and bitter, persistent memory. whether it's revealed in criminal metaphors ("in state," "independent thief"); in the way it feels to live here or there ("somewhere else," "copied keys"); or in some current or former lover's bad behavior ("old time sake" "summerlong"), every affair will inevitably go very, very wrong. rarely has such dark content surfed on such bright musical waves: "in state" describes the death of a relationship, but it sounds absolutely buoyant, with a hooky, propulsive guitar riff - a ripe radio single if ever there was one. "summerlong" begs someone to stay, against a sunny, jangling 12-string electric guitar; and when edwards tells a grasping, twisted old flame, "you've gotta be fuckin' kidding me" on "what are you waiting for," it's set to a punchy, uptempo beat. the title track is a barrelhouse rocker, dripping attitude, about how she can use what she's got to get what she wants. on the other hand, the confessional ballad "away" finds her trying to connect back with a hometown paramour, having been gone so long (which is what touring a hit album like 2002's failer will do for you). "do you think i've changed?" she asks, vulnerable as a five-year-old. it doesn't matter if she has - not as long as she keeps making music this good. rating: 4 (out of 5) howards druckman eye.net				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews