Expectations were not high for Kathleen Edwards' return. In fact, this Canadian singer-songwriter was long since given up as an artist after she said goodbye to the music world in 2014 and started a coffee house in Stittsville, near Ottawa. When expectations are not there, it can give complete freedom. Edwards took advantage of this on Total Freedom, her first album since 2012. She was once a
… distinguished darling of American roots music. Now she is a singer-songwriter with personal songs that navigate between indie pop and West Coast (country) pop. There is a warm hint of the 70s, traditions of and , over her repertoire, while in the hypnotic country rock of Hard On Everyone she does. seems to want to compete. Her clear and warm voice connects those trips into a coherent whole in which intimacy and freedom reign. (MR)more
