Back to Me (Zoe/Rounder, 2005)

Kathleen Edwards has more than a little to live up to in the wake of her acclaimed 2003 debut, "Failer." The Canadian native's press kit is stuffed to bursting with "Failer's" accolades, which earned her major TV appearances with David Letterman and Jay Leno and touring gigs with everyone from the Rolling Stones to AC/DC to Bob Dylan.

And just as she rose to those occasions and made it all seem as natural as breathing, Edwards pushes aside any notion of a sophomore slump with the rootsy splendor of "Back to Me." Comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Kristin Hersh are given credence with Edwards' tremulously dusky vocals and quietly shimmering power on the winsome "Good Things" and the silky "Pink Emerson Radio," and are just as appropriate when she ratchets up the raucous roots quotient on the chugging title track and the viscerally melancholy "What Are You Waiting For." On that rafter rattling title cut, Edwards sings with iron-clad conviction, "I've got ways to make you come/Back to me." Does she ever.