**
It’s hard not to hear the influence of Kathleen Edwards’s boyfriend on her new album, said Stephen Deusner in Pitchfork.com. Justin Vernon—aka Bon Iver—released one of 2011’s most critically acclaimed albums, and he seems to be more than just a background vocalist here. After three albums of “sturdy country rock,” Edwards has jettisoned “bar-band guitars and twangy vocals” in favor of “a bigger sound, marked by gauzy production.” The results are uneven, said Marcus Gilmer in the A.V. Club. “Trembling guitars and a haunting choir provide moody accompaniment” to the woe of “Pink Champagne,” and “distorted violin and marching snare drum” bring urgency to the otherwise standard folk-pop formula of “A Soft Place to Land.” But the more-is-more approach sometimes overwhelms Edwards. Tracks like “House Full of Empty Rooms” would’ve been better stripped down. Edwards’s willingness to “stretch her legs stylistically” is admirable, but she hasn’t yet mastered this new tack.
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