Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine:  Failer like a number of young singer-songwriters, there doesn't seem to be anything that kathleen edwards can't do. she writes, sings, plays guitar, and even lends a helping hand to the production; she can play the part of the soft-spoken country queen with acoustic and steel guitars or stand forth with the big girls and boys as a rock 'n' roll diva. failer gets a catchy start with "six o'clock news" and "one more song the radio won't like," two strong country rockers with a nice mix of acoustic and electric guitars backed by solid percussion. the pace slackens for "hockey skates" and 'The lone wolf." edwards injects these ballads with pensive emotion while leaving room for nice guitar work by jim bryson ("hockey skates") and tasteful lap steel by fred guignon ('The lone wolf"). my only complaint is that edwards' downbeat lyrics and languid delivery wears thin over the course of the album. she may be honestly rendering her state of mind as singer-songwriters are in the habit of doing, but bad relationships, getting high, and the general sad state of things gets depressing. at least two songs, "westby" and "maria," overcome this grimness by cranking up the electric guitars and forcing edwards to belt the words out with a little more gusto. with its well-thought out arrangements, fine production and even songcraft, failer will make a strong showing on the crowded singer-songwriter scene. roland lankford jr. singout.org				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews