After releasing four roots-rock albums from 2003 to 2012 (including one produced by Justin Vernon), Kathleen Edwards hung it up. She opened a café near Ottawa and called it Quitters. She was burned out and tired of chasing the dream, even though her music was always well received. After an invitation to write songs in Nashville, including one that ended up on Maren Morris’ #1 country album, Edwards decided to jump back into the studio one more time—thankfully.
Total Freedom is clear-eyed and level-headed and the best country-rock album of the year. As Edwards settles into middle age, she sings with a generous and direct spirit about the touring experience (“Glenfern”), tough relationships (“Hard on Everyone”), and tender moments (“Birds on a Feeder”). Her wisdom feels hard won, if not unsparing. Love is simple math, she sings, and I can be a total pain in the ass.
There are no missteps, no shaking the rust off. Edwards is observant and self-deprecating, although whether all the songs are autobiographical it’s hard to tell. On “Options Open,” the pedal string guitar soars with possibility even as she jokes about meeting a lover at the tire shop, quipping they will always have a parking lot. On “Fools Ride,” a mid-tempo acoustic strummer about a relationship mistake, she slyly rebuts “love is blind” with “whoever bought that line is a real sucker.” On “Who Rescued Who,” steady drums and guitars propel the song as she sweetly sings about the serendipity of a dog's saving love.
Finally, on the standout closer, “Take It with You When You Go,” she seeks relief from the pain of a breakup, asking for him to take it all as he leaves. It is the same stuff of a hundred thousand country songs, heavy on her shoulders like the summer rain. It works here, again, timeworn and true.
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