Kathleen Edwards: Albums Ranked

Kathleen Edwards was born in Ottawa, but a diplomat’s daughter, she grew up in Korea and Switzerland. She learned the violin and listened to Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan.

After high school, she started a career as a musician, booking her own tours across Canada. She released her debut album in 2002, boosted by a pair of Letterman appearances. Her dark, literate Americana quickly earned critical acclaim.

My songs are always pieces of me, even when I think I’m writing about somebody else.

Kathleen Edwards, Lonesome Highway

Edwards’ songs are often minimalist, based on a few descriptive lines – “you can get blisters from your favourite shoes”. She’s just released her sixth album, Billionaire. How does it measure up against the rest of her discography?

#6 Total Freedom

2020
After Voyageur, Edwards took a break from music. She ran a coffee shop in Ottawa named Quitters. Maren Morris lured her back to music, inviting her to write a song for 2019’s Girl.

Total Freedom starts with my favourite Edwards song, ‘Glenfern’, recalling her debut with Jim Bryson on lead guitar. But it’s inconsistent afterwards. ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is surprisingly sentimental with the line “All the animals that I’ve loved/Will die someday and so will I”.

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#5 Voyageur

2012
Edwards’ fourth album changes things up. Working with then-boyfriend, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Voyageur embraces a more layered, less rootsy sound. ‘Change the Sheets’ is surprisingly reminiscent of Coldplay.

It’s hard to know if the songs are worse than usual, or if the smooth sound buries Edwards’ emotional heft. But the energetic opener ‘Empty Threat’ is great, with its bait-and-switch chorus – “I’m moving to America/it’s an empty threat”.

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#4 Billionaire

2025
On her sixth album, Edwards works with Jason Isbell and his backing band, the 400 Unit. ‘When the Truth Comes Out’ could have come from Failer, although the 400 Unit are more muscular than any band she’s worked with before.

Edwards moved from Canada to Florida, and some of the most memorable songs commemorate the move. On ‘Little Red Ranger’, she sings “The Leafs still suck at playoff time”, while on ‘Fla’ she’s “Singing a song by my hero/A blonde boy from Gainesville”.

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#3 Back to Me

2004
Edwards’ second album maintains the quality of her debut while adding a fuller band feel. The title track recalls the bluesy and literate heartland rock of Lucinda Williams. Edwards is still dark – on the opening song, she sings “maybe 20 years in state will change your mind”.

The arrangements pump up the intensity – even delicate tracks have some punch. She collaborates with Colin Cripps from Blue Rodeo, and his lead guitar is captivating, like on ‘Copied Keys’.

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#2 Failer

2002
Edwards originally released Failer independently in 2002. It was recorded on a 16-track machine, with mostly first takes and few overdubs. Nine months later, it was released in the States, where Edwards gained exposure from appearing on Late Night with David Letterman multiple times.

Failer is minimalist, but effective – Jim Bryson’s lead guitar sparks up the raw alt-country sound. It starts strongly with ‘Six O’Clock News’ and ‘One More Song the Radio Won’t Like’. She’s also effective when she mellows out, like on ‘Hockey Skates’.

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#1 Asking for Flowers

2008
Jim Scott produced Edwards’ third album. He provides a more mainstream sound for her most consistent set of songs.

It’s her record where she’s most often in singer-songwriter mode. On the title track, she sings “asking for flowers/is like asking you to be nice”. ‘Alicia Ross’ is one of Edwards’ finest songs. It’s typically dark, about the last thoughts of a famous Canadian murder victim. The tense, minimalist ‘Buffalo’ is another highlight.

What’s your favourite Kathleen Edwards album?

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