Toronto Sun:  Failer is anything but the debut album from ottawa songsmith kathleen edwards, failer is sincere, bittersweetly catchy, equally tinged with heartbreak and dignity - the sort of record today's more gap-ad friendly roots-rockers routinely shoot for and, well, fail to hit. even on disc, edwards' delivery could be described as someone staring down at their shoes while searching for the right words. and she finds them, starting with the album's intentionally mangled title, lifted from a line in lead single six o'clock news. though edwards is a songwriter first and a singer second, her breathy drawl takes on a skewed quality that's actually more evocative, set against her clutch of country-rock ballads, than if she'd been born a better crooner. her accent may seem affected - it's hard to pin down, kind of tennessee hillbilly mixed with ottawa valley. but it's that sort of fusion that gives the album a language of its own. without forcing the country overtones of the music, edwards and her backing band - including co-producer dave draves, singer-songwriter jim bryson, and members of starling - instead create a power-pop and folk fabric in which steel guitars, banjo, strings and horns run through like brightly coloured threads. "one more song the radio won't like," edwards laments tunefully on one more song. maybe. but rarely can listening to someone beat themself up be this pleasant. failer initially came out as an indie release, and is being re-issued through maplemusic and universal. kieran grant canoe.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews