Personnel: Kathleen Edwards (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo); Colin Cripps (electric guitar, tambourine); Eric Heywood (pedal steel guitar); Richard Bell (accordion); Benmont Tench (piano, organ); Pierre Marchand (piano); Kevin McGarragher (bass guitar); Joel Anderson (drums). Kathleen Edwards excels at simple denim-and-leather country rock that recalls the best moments of Freedy Johnston and Lucinda Williams. Like these artists, Edwards writes mournful vignettes from the POV of down-at-the-heel small-town folks, with a rueful tenderness that suggests compassion beyond her years. Edwards sings in a pretty-yet-tomboyish voice that conveys longing, frustration, and often a vivifying redemption. Tom Petty sideman Benmont Tench and Sarah McLachlan's mentor Pierre Marchand help out on keyboards, while guitarist (and occasional co-writer) Colin Cripps provides tasteful leads that take flight when Edwards's vocals hover closer to the ground. Edwards has a gift for writing choruses that burrow under the skin, both for their melodic seductiveness and their lyrical acumen. "Away," an airy acoustic tune about an abandoned love, haunts long after listening, and the boisterous title track boasts a compelling refrain. The most effective song overall is "Copied Keys," a mid-tempo lament about being subsumed by a relationship conducted on someone else's terms. The album ends on an up note with the gently philosophical "Good Things."
Disc 1: In State Back To Me Pink Emerson Radio Independent Thief Old Time Sake Summer Long What Are You Waiting For? Away Somewhere Else Copied Keys Good Things