Singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards has such a steep career trajectory that she fell into that unenviable category of artists where producers, industry types and others were telling her how she should sound, and what she should be doing next. It all became too heavy a burden to bear so she dropped out, choosing to run her successful small coffee shop, bar, and café aptly named Quitters in her hometown of Stittsville, ON Canada. So, like her business, this album title, Total Freedom, is also aptly named – she’s put aside all the so-called expectations and delivered an album the way she wanted to after her period of self-reflection. The themes are essentially about resilience and newfound optimism.
This is her fifth studio album and first since her 2012 Voyageur. Edwards had huge success with that record and is a five-time Juno Award nominee and winner of the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for Voyageur track “A Soft Place to Land.” Her music has also been featured on major television shows. This effort is co-produced by Edwards, longtime collaborator and guitarist Jim Bryson, and Nashville-based Grammy Award-winning producer and musician Ian Fitchuk. The album was recorded in both Nashville and Canada.
The catalyst for her return to music was in an invitation in 2018 from Maren Morris, who invited her to a songwriting session. One collaborative result was the tune “Good Woman” that appeared on Morris’ successful 2019 album GIRL. The third person in the room was Fitchuk, which eventually led to discussions of producing a record. Edwards felt completely natural writing and singing again. Yet, the year was personally difficult as she was ending a relationship. She turned to Bob Seger’s music for inspiration, especially the tune “Against the Wind.” It’s great to hear Edwards’ soaring, rather angelic voice again as she revisits old loves, losses and heartaches in a fresh context, from nostalgic notes of appreciation (“Glenfern” for Colin Cripps, her ex-husband and former collaborator) to treatises on grief over the loss of a close friend (“Ashes to Ashes”) and slowly disintegrating romance to the point of the raised middle finger (“Feelings Fade”). Edwards offers, “I went through a scary experience, extricating myself from someone, and it was this wonderful moment of resilience when I finished the album. I am super resilient. I’m always finding ways to adjust what’s not working. I’m not gonna let someone take me down in the process. I think that calling [the record] Total Freedom was a reminder that I am a really strong person.”
As mentioned, most of these songs fall into either the resilience or optimistic/fresh start camp. “Hard on Everyone” is about newfound awareness and was written on the “floor of my empty house after leaving a bad situation.” “Birds on a Feeder” has released as single and speaks to newfound lack of responsibilities, simply just feeding the birds and caring for the dogs. Her drawn-out “oooh” at the end is gorgeous. “Simple Math” is inspired by a childhood friend she reconnected with, who helped her put the words around the phrase she’d been carrying for some time – ‘love is simple math.’ “Options Open,” another single, was rather unintentionally written about her own situation, instead originally written as an expression of love to someone.
”Fool’s Ride” is another of the self-realization songs, comparing her own life to a podcast called “dirty john” of all things. She calls it her “armour song of late.” Like most of the songs, it floats over a layered bed of echoing keys and guitars and heavy use of reverb on lots of levels. Yet, her voice is such a beautifully strong instrument, it gloriously soars over any backdrop. Listen closely though and you’ll hear some bitterness and sarcasm in this one. “Who Rescued Who,” is a tearjerker but mostly an ode of appreciation to her dog that she had to put down. The closer, “Take It With You When You Go,” begins hauntingly as it’s a painful song for Edwards in many ways. She at first didn’t want to include it but was convinced to keep it on the album, partly because the ending has a note of finality, like a door closing. Thus, the close.
It’s rather remarkable considering that Edwards has been off our radar for six years. It’s just like calling up an old friend you hadn’t talked to in years and within the first few moments of conversation, it seems that the time gap just evaporates. That’s the same effect – her stance may have changed but her voice remains so distinctively familiar.
