I've been wanting to write about Kathleen Edwards for some time as she's another of my favourite singer-songwriters. Now I've given myself the perfect excuse by inventing a mini series to fit her into (a benefit of being my own boss in the micro-world of this blog).
As well as the age-old problem of there never being enough time to do everything I want to do, or listen to everything I want to, another big problem has been deciding which of her songs to write about. I finally chose Glenfern, not only for its pretty unique reference to a Siamese cat, but also because it contains most of the ingredients of what appeals to me about music from the American roots/folk/country genre.
I really like the pace of this song, set by the constant strumming guitar throughout, and backed with gentle drums. Then there's the catchy electric guitar (somehow sounded brass-like) riff, established at the start and repeated strategically. Later, about 3 minutes in, you also get the honesty of a banjo - this instrument can sometimes seem a bit twee, but here it's pitched at just the right level. It sounds just right, everything in its right place.
That word 'honesty' is one which keeps coming to mind when I listen to this song. The lyrics are no exception - they're more prose than poetry and quite simply do a great job of telling a clear but poignant story. It feels nostalgic, and capture that sense of homesickness you can feel when thinking back to people and places from your past. Listening closely, I've realised that there's some very clever production, with the vocals filtered very subtly. I think this creates more of that sense of slight distance.
One thing though - this song is not gloomy - it stays upbeat, with the theme of warmth and thankfulness shining through, sitting comfortably with the yearning.
A final point which gives the song its x-factor for me is the very American references - tour buses, drinking too much whisky ... I'm not ashamed to admit that, as a non-American, there's always something incurably romantic about that kind of Americana.