Kathleen Edwards - Options Open
The acclaimed roots rocker’s welcome return features her signature clear vocals, ringing guitar, and a reflective outlook.
By Kerry Doole
Kathleen Edwards - Options Open (dualtone/eOne): The acclaimed Ottawa area roots rocker made the news back in 2014 with the declaration she was leaving the music biz. She started up her own successful bar and café, Quitters, in her hometown of Stittsville, but thankfully she kept her musical options open.
One of the most celebrated Canadian singer/songwriters of the past 20 years, she will release a new album, Total Freedom, on Aug. 14. Her fifth album, it is her first since 2012’s Polaris Music Prize short-listed Voyageur.
Options Open is the first track previewed, and it is sure to delight Edwards' loyal fans, here and abroad. Flanked by ringing guitar and a solid drumbeat, that instantly recognisable voice booms out with typical clarity. The mid-tempo tune's reference to "Crappy Tire" may be lost on non-Canadian listeners, but reaffirms her penchant for homeland imagery.
Total Freedom is co-produced by longtime collaborator/guitarist Jim Bryson and Grammy Award-winning producer/ musician Ian Fitchuk (Maren Morris). In a recent tweet, Edwards states the album "is all about self-reflection & life’s imperfections & how they all add up to a pretty perfect picture." We are thirsting to hear more.
The fact that Rolling Stone quickly hopped on board with an extensive feature confirms that interest in Edwards' work has remained strong.
Since debuting in 2002 with Failer, Edwards has earned five Juno Award nominations, won a SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and has had her music featured in several hit television shows including Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill.
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