By Alex Brenner

I must admit when I first heard Kathleen Edwards’ new record was being produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon I was a bit worried. That’s me, the indie snob, but then I heard his work on Land of Talk’s stellar Some Are Lakes and my worrying subsided.

What you get with Voyageur is much more adventurous and focused sound that is bound to break her out of the Americana mold. It’s not so out of left field, it’s just not so singer songwriter and more akin to David Bazan or Feist. Believe me, I love all her records but Americana (in my opinion) can be limiting and I always thought she had that extra something; Voyageur is that something. She still is one hell of a songwriter with a great sense for melody, and sometimes humor and wit, as found in “Cheapest Key” from her last album: “A is for all the times I bit my tongue, B is for bullshit and you fed me some. That preceded by “F is my favorite letter as you know”. Edwards also knows how to pick some great guests on her records. Last time it was members of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and this time it’s Norah Jones and the Long Winter’s John Roderick.

So the songs are still fairly acoustic driven but it’s the bubbling synths and the broken cable noise in the album’s strongest track, “Side Car”, that add so much. The production is done very well, not too polished and not too indie to make her sound like something totally different. It’s not like she is trying to go out of her way to be different. It’s just good solid songwriting and her voice is downright amazing. What really makes Kathleen Edwards such a great artist is that she is always consistent. All her records are great all the way through; this record probably the most.

I don’t want to focus on the fact that this is supposed to be her “divorce record.” Honestly, it does not add anything to the record to think of it that way. It’s an amazing record. I’ve had it heavy rotation in the car for a week or two and it will be on my top of 2012 for sure. Maybe you are not too familiar with her previous work or maybe like me you’ve been a fan since Failer broke your heart. If anything Voyageur should get Kathleen Edwards the mainstream (not top 40 Katy Perry Mainstream) success she deserves.