By James Keller
Country music is generally a hard sell, especially for someone like myself. The vocals are usually too twangy, the music too simple, and the lyrics too small-town trash. However, on her debut album Failer, Kathleen Edwards offers an introduction that is very easy to embrace.
Songs like "The Lone Wolf" and "12 Bellevue" are clear examples of intelligent and well-crafted songwriting. Edwards’ album is still definitely country at the core, but offers a fresh outlook on an old and sometimes rightfully forgotten genre with hints of blues and folk. With a field-stranded pick-up on the cover, it’s easy to dismiss Failer as something it’s not–more of the same, tired cowboy ballads that so many of us have long tried to avoid.