Kathleen Edwards' Voyageur

So, who was that strawberry blonde with Boney Vair at the Grammies? I suppose the more hopelessly romantic among us thought, Emma! But, no. The strawberry blonde was new girlfriend--and, a singer, herself--Kathleen Edwards. Edwards, a Canadian, debuted way back in 2003 with Failer, featuring a really terrific tune "Six O'Clock News," and released 2 additional LPs before her current Voyageur.

Her 1st 3 records were produced in collaboration with husband Colin Crips, but the 2 were divorced in 2011. In the fall of 2010 she began work on her 4th record with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver as producer. Sometime later they became an item and about the same time Vernon/Bon himself became an item with the massive success of his 2nd album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver.

All of which has undoubtedly helped Voyageur to get a hearing and a #39 rating on the U.S. album charts, and a much deserved hearing it is. I mean, there's a certain sameness to it, with a surfeit of ballads.

But 3 of the up-tempo tunes stand out. "Empty Threat" opens the record with a pretty little easy listening verse. The chorus, "I'm moving to America," is repeated a bit much, but all in all it gets the record off to a pleasant start. "Change the Sheets" is the 1st single. Driven by a staccato piano figure, it builds to an arena rock crescendo that seems a bit over the top for the material and also for Edwards' thinnish voice. But aside from the overstatement, it too is a nice enough tune.

"Sidecar" is tossed off without fanfare mid-record, but it proves to be the most enjoyable of the up-tempo tunes. At a modest 2:38 it avoids the repetition and overstatement of the other 2. Thank goodness for these 3 tunes because the rest is pretty much all ballads.

Some of the them a very nice ballads, of course. I'm particularly fond of "Soft Place to Land" and "Pink Champagne." Not only are they nice tunes, but they suit Edwards' voice nicely. It is on the ballads, too, that Vernon's Boney sonic palette comes into play and as on Bon Iver, Bon Iver, the effect is most pleasing.

"For the Record" closes the record and at 7:07 falls prey to the repetition that mars "Empty Threat," only more so. I don't know how many times she sings "For the record, I only wanted to sing songs," but it's too many. "House Full of Empty Rooms" has another pretty little melody but maudlin lyrics, while "Chameleon/Comedian,""Mint" and "Going to Hell" are also mostly enjoyable tunes.

All in all, a nice collection of ballads tempered by just enough of a more active sound to avoid monotony. I know this all sounds like faint praise. But roll it all up and you've got the best album-length collection of songs of 2012 so far. Of course, that is in part because 2012 thus far has been a pretty weak year in pop music. Only Craig Finn's Clear Heart Full Eyes really stands out otherwise, though The Shins' long-awaited Port of Morrow has its moments. I also have high hopes for Bonnie Raitt's Slipstream and Rufus Wainwright's Out of the Game, neither of which I have listened to yet due to an active travel schedule.

Then there's also this: A Handful of Earth, an instrumental record by The Fantastic Merlins, was released a year ago, though I only became acquainted with it a month or two ago. I will write about the Merlins forthwith.

I will also be seeing The Shins, Steve Earle, Los Lobos and Rufus Wainwright live this summer, and I'll let you know how those turn out.