Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright
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CD Details
Artist: Martha WainwrightEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-04-12
Music Label: Zoe Records
Soundtracks:
- Far Away
- G.P.T.
- Factory
- These Flowers
- Ball And Chain
- Don't Forget
- This Life
- When The Day Is Short
- Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
- Oprah Song
- The Maker
- Who Was I Kidding
- Whither Must I Wander
Music reviews of Martha Wainwright
Music Review: One of the best CDs of 2005
Rating: 5 Stars
Most of the time when I buy a CD, I listen to it a few times and then put it back on the shelf for weeks or months at a time before I give it another listen. There are occasions, however, when I buy a CD and it really grabs a hold of me. On these rare occasions, I become engrossed, almost addicted to the album. Martha Wainwright's self-titled debut has been one of these occasions.
Because of who her family is, it would be easy to immediately dismiss her as "the sister of Rufas," or "the daughter of Louden and Kate McGarrigle." This would be a mistake, because Martha Wainwright's music is distinctly unique and she is a huge talent in her own right.
Her voice is gorgeous, but not in a traditional sense. Her voice has a soulful, high-pitched, eerie beauty, like nothing I've ever heard before. In her delivery, there is a real sense of emotion and feeling that really connects with the listener. With most albums, when you are done listening, you are done. When you are finished with Martha Wainwright's album, you feel as though you had just been visited by a presence, and that feeling stays with you, long after the CD has ended.
From the opening "Far Away", the listener is immediately swept into the CD. This song is subtle, building up ever so slightly, and is slightly underwhelming, which gives the song the perfect effect. The hauntingly beautiful background vocals add a nice touch. The more upbeat "G.P.T." has an infectious, singsong verse before going into its' soulful chorus. The bluesy morose "Factory" shows a more vulnerable side to Martha Wainwright. "These Flowers" has a kind-of a dream-like lullaby atmosphere. "Ball and Chain," (not a cover of the classic Janis Joplin song) sounds somewhat Janis-Joplin like. It is here that Wainwright lets down all restraints and finally lets all that had been building up inside her explode. "Why does this always happen?" she yells, demanding an answer, yet knowing none will come. The album comes back to earth with the beautiful "Don't forget" a song about lost love. These types of songs are so cliché,' but Wainwright sounds so sincere, and this song feels so lived in, that it's impossible not to be moved. The tongue-in-cheek "This Life," tries to answer the question of whether the monotony of life in general is worth living. The light percussion over the subtle strumming of the acoustic strings creates the perfect backdrop for the song. Although it is asked whether or not suicide is the answer, this seemingly heavy-handed topic does not emotionally drain the listener the way an Alice In Chains song might. It's as though these suicidal ideas are just passing thoughts, not to be taken seriously. The catchy mid-paced "When the day is Short," keeps the momentum going. The brutally honest "Bloody Mother F***ing A** Hole" is one of the album's centerpieces. You'd expect a song with a title like that to sound like Hole or Babes In Toyland, but that's not the case at all. This acoustic song starts out very subtle, building up angst as it rolls along, as though the hurt and resentment inside had been building up a long time and now is being vented out. But when Wainwright delivers the main lines "you bloody mother f***ing A** hole," she sounds more hurt than angry. "I will not pretend, I will not put on a smile, I will not say I'm alight for you, for you, whoever you are." In other words, she is taking a stand, against anyone who would try to supress her, or not let her be herself. The explicit content sounds especially powerful because it comes out of left field. It's really unexpected. It's not like an Eminem album where every-other word is f*** this and f*** that. The bluesy easy-going "TV Show" has an engrossing stream-like lyrical flow. There's an array of strings in the background that are effective, yet subtle. The singsong "Maker" is enchanting, especially when the lush array of background vocals in the chorus kick in. The somber stripped-down acoustic "Who was I kidding" is heavyhearted, yet not overdone. The elegant piano balled "Whiter I Must Wander" is the perfect way to close out the album, ending on a whisper.
Martha Wainwright's debut is a truly wonderful listen, through and through. It's brutally honest, yet not melodramatic, confident, yet never cocky. Martha Wainwright is an amazing and very promising talent. One of the best CDs of 2005.
Description of Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright comes from a family that some would call "musical royalty." She is the daughter of Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, and sister of Rufus Wainwright, yet she writes and sings with a style completely her own. After several tours as opener and band-mate for Rufus Wainwright, and appearances on albums by Rufus, the McGarrigles, Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) and Linda Thompson, Martha made her own bold statement with the release of her EP BMFA earlier this year. The EP garnered rave reviews: The London Times called it a "tour de force" while The New York Times named it "a gorgeous teaser" to her forthcoming full-length debut. The release of that self-titled debut album takes things to a whole new level. An album of contrasts, Martha Wainwright features tracks filled with raw, fiery, passionate energy alongside unforgettable, hauntingly beautiful ballads.With her debut album appearing at the age of 28, Martha Wainwright has lived in a musical world since she was born. She posses a voice with timbres similar to her brother, Rufus, and to her mother and aunt, Kate & Anna McGarrigle. She also has a way of stretching syllables out for reasons at once musical and textual, very much like her father, Loudon Wainwright, from whom she's also inherited a bold autobiographical stance, albeit couched in her own particular poetics. A bracing confidence informs these thirteen songs, from the bright shiny pop of "G.P.T." and "The Maker" (with the unmistakable voice of Rufus on backup vocals) to the fragile balladry of "Whither Must I Wander." Martha Wainwright continues the family tradition of audacious debuts. -- David Greenberger
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