10 replies to this topic

[Josh Hurst]

Produced and largely co-written by Bon Iver, and streaming here.

[Greg P]

I think I'm one of the few here who actually really dig her. I still listen to Asking for Flowers and really enjoy it from start to finish. This new one treads some of the same melodic territory as her other albums and perhaps highlights one her main weaknesses-- i.e. she traffics the same melodic territory in many of her songs, over and over. This gives one the distinct impression that the songs on Voyageur have already been done. Still I enjoy her style, the unadorned, girlish delivery and the lilting quality to her spin on every four chord Neil Young song.

[J. Henry Waugh]

I like Kathleen Edwards a lot as well. I was dismissive of Failer when it was released (my own fault, not hers), but saw her open for MMJ in 2005 and was easily converted. She opened with Back to Me, which is difficult not to love live.

I listen to Asking for Flowers all the time and am ready to add the new album to my mix.

[Darren H]

I'd been a casual fan for quite a while. Then, a year or two ago, I saw her in a small club in Knoxville, which was the penultimate stop on her 18-month tour in support of Asking for Flowers. She was in a great mood -- sipping whiskey, telling stories, and singing her lungs out for nearly two hours straight. It was just a fantastic performance.

I haven't heard the new album yet and probably won't until I have time to give it a serious listen, but as someone who doesn't get Bon Iver at all . . . I'm worried.

[Josh Hurst]

I don't care for Bon Iver, either, Darren, but my first impressions of his production work here are positive. For me, Edwards is a terrific songwriter and performer, but her albums have never really convinced me of her grittiness, and they have never rocked as authoritatively as I'm sure she does in concert. The new album strikes me as a bit more of a pop album, which I'm fine with.

[Greg P]

Josh Hurst, on 10 January 2012 - 11:59 AM, said:

For me, Edwards is a terrific songwriter and performer, but her albums have never really convinced me of her grittiness, and they have never rocked as authoritatively as I'm sure she does in concert. The new album strikes me as a bit more of a pop album, which I'm fine with.

I don't think she's ever really tried to be gritty. And I don't think singer songwriters have to traffic in edginess-- either lyrically or musically--in order to be authentic. Her lyrical schtick is mostly the single independent waif/rural gal/snarky ex-girlfriend. Her bar tales are more flirtatious and cute, than seedy-- which i think suits her wonderfully.

I watched this the other night and was struck by 1) how good she sounds live and... most importantly 2)how she is no longer that merely cute, scrappy 20-something singer... she has become a really gorgeous, poised, 30-something performer

Edited by Greg P, 10 January 2012 - 12:32 PM.

[Darren H]

Greg, I don't know how else to put this: I was sitting about ten feet away from Kathleen when she played in Knoxville, and it was probably the sexiest live music performance I've ever seen.

[Greg P]

Darren H, on 10 January 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

Greg, I don't know how else to put this: I was sitting about ten feet away from Kathleen when she played in Knoxville, and it was probably the sexiest live music performance I've ever seen.

Word.

[J. Henry Waugh]

I am still absorbing all the great music from 2011, but two-months-and-change in, this is the 2012 album that has really stuck with me so far.

[Greg P]

I've listened to it almost every day at work for the past month or so. Love it; especially Mint, Sidecar, Change the Sheets, Chameleon... Critical metascores aside, my desire to return to an album as a habitual companion throughout my day is my ultimate litmus test of its true worth.

[J. Henry Waugh]

Greg P, on 08 March 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

I've listened to it almost every day at work for the past month or so.

Me too.

This one and Real Estate.

In my father's house there are many bosses and jazz seems to tick them off so I stick to mid-tempo rock.

Still waiting for more 2012 albums to register.