Kathleen Edwards swear in some interviews, set a few songs in bars, then stand back and watch the fourth estate tar you as a foul-mouthed alcoholic. not that kathleen edwards cares much about a bad reputation so long as her music is good. "you always like to think that people perceive you as somebody who is genuine and the real deal," she says by phone from her toronto home. "whether or not people actually think that of you is not really up to you. all i try to do is just be honest about what i am and not try to act like i'm something i'm not." who she is is a frequent collaborator with blue rodeo, a classically trained violinist, and an acclaimed singer-songwriter whose first album, 2002's failer, earned her opening spots with bob dylan, a david letterman appearance, and stage time at last year's anti-sars concert, toronto rocks. what she isn't - despite her lyrical bravado - is a cynic. edwards, 26, may come across a little tough but it's the underlying vulnerability in her music - a vibrant amalgam of folk, rock and country - which has won her fans far beyond her hometown of ottawa. "self doubt is a powerful writing tool," she says. "i think if i weren't writing stuff that i really believed... it wouldn't be convincing. you can always see stuff that's not terribly convincing and it's probably because it isn't really them." like shania twain. one way to get edwards going is to bring up the canadian country queen's serious admission that she never writes songs about herself for fear of breaching her privacy. 'that makes me f**kin' so furious! i hear that and i just think, 'Then go be a secretary, man, where you don't have to put yourself out there.'" not that she has anything against secretaries, she hastens to add. "go do something where you don't have to reveal anything about you . because that's what this is all about. that's what songs should be. imagine bob dylan saying that? like, what the f**k?" the running theme of her new album, back to me, is "a sense of absence" motivated in part by her move from ottawa to toronto as well as her evolution from anonymity to a certain fame. "i'm coming to terms with the fact that i'm leaving a bit of my old life behind." but it's not all frowns and navel-gazing. the first single (and title track) toys with her public persona as an unstable commodity, someone dangerous to know but irresistible nonetheless: "i've got ways to make you strange/ drug you up and drive you home." any story behind that one, kathleen? "umm. it might be good to make people think that i'd be some psychotic ex-girlfriend to have, and stay away?" which is not necessarily the case, i'm sure. "well, you never know. i can give you a couple of names and phone numbers. you can call and ask yourself!" sean plummer accessmag.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews