Kathleen Edwards" shimmering sadness Never one to mince words, Kathleen Edwards has already sardonically labelled Voyageur her "divorce album," but you don't have to be acquainted with the recent details of the Ottawa singer/songwriter's biography to realize from that there's been a shakeup in her universe. It's not just the lyrical content that gives it away, either, although heart-rending tunes such as "House Full of Empty Rooms," "Pink Champagne" and the exquisitely weepy "A Soft Place to Land" are replete with words and images that suggest they were written in the midst of a particularly rocky personal period. "So I'm going to hell/ In a basket I've made," sings Edwards on "Going to Hell," the most cathartic cut. "It's woven from your letters/ And it spells your name." No, Voyageur also works as its own phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes metaphor, putting as it does a fresh spin on Edwards's confessional songwriting four albums into the game thanks to some attentive production help from Bon Iver bandleader (and new boyfriend) Justin Vernon. His isn't a radical reimagining of the familiar Edwards sound, but there's definitely more shimmer and space to the proceedings than one might recall - particularly on the almost-ethereal ballads, which occasionally, fondly bring to mind the elegantly heady work of Suzanne Vega. And while opener "Empty Threat" and the buzzing, synth-fuelled "Sidecar" push her closer to straight-ahead rock 'n' roll than ever before, Voyageur is largely notable for how much Edwards lets her tough-chick guard down and lets the lingering bad taste of fallen dreams seep into one of contemporary Canadiana's loveliest, and heretofore under-exploited, voices. Norah Jones's appearance on the closer "For the Record" is nice, but it feels like an unnecessary afterthought of star power, as it should. Top track: "A Soft Place to Land." An early candidate for sad CanCon song of the year. Rating: 3 out of 4 Ben Rayner Toronto Star				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews