Ottawa's Kathleen Edwards is alt-country's newest rising star as ironically titled albums go, kathleen edwards' failer is right up there with the spice girls' forever. "i don't know what happened," laughs the alt-country singer-songwriter down the line from the kitchen of her toronto home. "i just called it what i thought it should be called. and i still love it. "but yeah, in hindsight, maybe i called it the wrong thing." that would be the only mistake edwards has made as of late. the truth is, since her debut album, was issued last fall, the 24-year-old ottawa native can seemingly do no wrong. she's been lauded by the likes of rolling stone magazine, which chose her as one of 10 new artists to watch in 2003. she's made the rounds of the u.s. chat shows, shmoozing with the likes of jay and dave. she drew raves for her performance at last month's south by southwest music festival in austin, tex. she earned a juno nomination this year for best roots album. and failer -- a set of gorgeously crafted, sometimes alarmingly dark-hearted confessions whose emotional frankness invites comparison to lucinda williams -- currently ranks as the best-selling title over at her canadian label maplemusic. not bad for a gal who says that album title "was entirely appropriate for what my life was at the time" when songs like the lone wolf and one more song the radio won't like were written. "i'd say 90% of the songs are about me in terms of having very personal connections to me," edwards says. "a lot of them aren't in the first person, but the content and ideas come from places that are true." in the wake of failer's unexpected success, does she wish she had held back more of herself from her listeners? "no, not at all. i think there's nothing less interesting than 10 songs that have nothing to do with real people. i remember seeing an interview with shania twain and she said, 'i wouldn't write songs about me because that's my private life.' but i'd rather shoot myself in the head than write about somebody else. "i have to go out and play these songs every night. if i had to go out and sing about stuff that wasn't personal, i would have a hard time singing them over and over." and over again. "i've been working every day and have been since january," edwards says, the pots and pans clanking as she prepares her first home-cooked meal in weeks. "i've been on the road in the u.s., so you can imagine how much crappy, fat food i've had. so i'm roasting all these vegetables." if edwards does regret anything about her overnight fame, it's the loss of these quiet times -- sleeping in, hanging out, cooking her own meals. 'The worst part is feeling you have no personal time," she admits. "it used to be that 98% of my time was quiet personal time. i really miss living out in the country and not necessarily having any plans for the day. "but i'm not complaining. i'm having an incredible experience and not many people get to live it. it could all be over tomorrow." lucky for us, she and her band will be at the west end cultural centre tonight. it's edwards' third local show in a year, but her winnipeg debut as a headliner. darryl sterdan wpgsun.com				Album reviews Feature articles Interviews Show reviews