Album of the Week: Kathleen Edwards, 'Total Freedom'
by Bill DeVille
August 17, 2020
Let's see, the story goes something like this. Kathleen Edwards steps away from music to open a coffee shop called Quitters. She has been running the shop now for the last 8 years. A few years later she was invited to Nashville to write song for Maren Morris, who is a big fan..
Edwards is back from the sabbatical. Her new album is called Total Freedom. I almost forgot how talented Kathleen Edwards was as both a singer and songwriter. The songs are not hard to figure out. They are deeply personal. Many touch on relationships gone wrong.
The album opens with "Glenfern," which is named after the street on which Edwards used to live with her ex-husband. The song touches on coming to grips with their collective past, "When I go walking in my neighborhood/I wonder how I even got here /It seems so long since those Hamilton days and the first house we bought together."
"Feelings Fade," and "Simple Math" sound like she's reminiscing and trying to make sense of past relationships. The album's highlight is "Options Open." This one, to me, is an instant classic. It's a hit in my world! Blending folk, rock and Americana wonderfully. I love the easy breezy feel. I've had it stuck in my head for weeks. Edwards also mentioned it was also influenced by Roxy Music' classic "More Than This" in that Virtual Session.
This isn't just about an album about breakups. Total Freedom also touches on our furry friends, our pets. Who Rescued Who," is about a dog she found and "Birds on a Feeder," is a sweet tune about the long winter in Canada. "I got birds in the feeder/I got dogs and their sleeping/What more do you need." Not much more, thanks. Welcome back Kathleen. We missed you!