Blender:  Failer ottawa, ontario-born upstart aims to claim the alt-country throne for herself on this debut the girls in kathleen edwards's songs know their way around fast-lane femininity's haunts - car backseats, health clinics, corner booths in make-out bars. disastrous things happen to them, or nothing happens at all; either way, they go on. at 23, edwards is working a tough persona; in her cig-stained canadian drawl, she sings about drinking too much, song after song. but like her touchstone, lucinda williams, this diplomat's daughter (and trained violinist) can't hide her artistic meticulousness. detail and narrative pacing rescue the trailer-park tragedies "six o'clock news" and "mercury" from cliche, and "national steel" might be the best song about bad parenting since freedy johnston's "responsible." whether she's rocking out or taking it achingly slow, edwards's songs have an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe, no matter how fucked-up they are. rating: 4 stars (out of 5) ann powers blender.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews