Kathleen Edwards makes her mark with 'Failer' with the senators sitting comfortably atop the nhl standings, ottawa has already basked in the warm glow of success this frigid winter season. our northern neighbor's capital has further cause for celebration, though, as local daughter kathleen edwards climbs the charts with her debut album on cambridge's zoe records. edwards' songs plumb the dark recesses of tired taverns and automobiles, giving voice to characters unafraid of mouthing off to the stranger on the barstool next to them. her tales of foiled dreams and spoiled relationships rise above life's bittersweet twists with a frank honesty, where she ultimately acknowledges the hope and light shed by a strong will and determined resilience. like the all-natural mirlo condiments canned in her hometown, "failer" is an organic blend of ingredients grounded in earthy probity. the first track, "six o'clock news," is the first single pegged for radio, and the jangly guitar hook is tailor made for aaa playlists. right on its heels is "one more song the radio won't like," similar in both structure and instrumentation, with jim bryson filling out edwards' acoustic foundation and sonorous vocals with tasteful, but unremarkable, electric guitar lines. "12 bellevue" throws a couple of saxophones into the mix, adding a festive flair to this straight ahead rocker. singing here in the first person, edwards is full of defiant assertiveness with a hint of self-destruction. the recycled rhythms and delivery of "westby" take some of the sheen off the album's most darkly humorous narrative. edwards rebounds quickly, though, injecting an rem-like guitar crunch into "maria," with fred guignon swooping through a wonderfully distorted slide guitar solo. "failer" concludes with a brace of beautifully sparse, poignant numbers. trained on the classical violin, edwards writes and plays all of her string arrangements, and on "national steel," her overdubbed harmonies ring with the texture of a chordophone as well. the tender resignation of "sweet little duck" brings the album to a close with edwards' guitar disappearing inside a swirling mist of feedback, piano and pedal steel. kathleen edwards' songwriting is prone to rather awkward syllabification, and her lurching delivery sounds disjointed at first listen, but this album improves with time. full of conflicted characters and torn emotions, the stories and songs alike resist immediate scrutiny and instead reward patience and attentiveness. "failer" promises to be the first of many successes for this 24-year-old canadian. chris flouton-barnes dailycollegian.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews