It’s hard to believe that Ottawa’s alt-country sweetheart Kathleen Edwards’s career is already a decade in, and on her fourth album she doesn’t go too far from where she came. Co-produced by Edwards and her super duper famous boyfriend Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), the disc’s 11 tunes range from catchy as hell (Change the Sheets) to beautifully pensive (A Soft Place to Land) and everywhere in between (Mint). A lot has changed since 2008’s Asking for Flowers (the 33-year-old just got divorced from collaborator/husband Colin Cripps) so there aren’t any cheeky tunes about Marty McSorely here - it’s mostly reflective crooners, such as the beautiful For the Record. The special guests (Norah Jones, Afie Jurvanen and more) aren’t essential, but are a nice icing on the cake.

Published in Volume 66, Number 19 of The Uniter (February 8, 2012)