Martha Wainwright: Family Ties Not Enough to Guarantee Great Success
Written: Jul 21 '05
Product Rating:
Pros: Sometimes there's a little spark of genius...
Cons: Mostly the album wanders around aimlessly...
The Bottom Line: I want to love Martha Wainwright, however this album doesn't do anything for me. It's boring and unemotional, however I still think she might have something special to offer.
lambchops's Full Review: Martha Wainwright [PA] by Martha Wainwright
She sings, she writes, and most of all she really doesn’t care what you think. Martha Wainwright was born into the world of music. Her mother, father, and most famously brother are all talented in their own right. In particular, Rufus has made quite a splash in recent years. His child-like playfulness, intelligence, and emotion are a perfect compliment to his music. Instead of playing up on family’s successes, Martha is trying her hand at her own craft.
Browsing through her list of credits, it is clear that Martha is musical. She’s contributed to numerous albums by various family members. It took until a self-titled 1999 EP for her to try her own thing. Six years later she released a second EP, Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole which definitely readied potential fans for her impending full-length solo debut. April 2005 marked the release of Martha’s eponymous album. The woman who once shunned music has become a practitioner of the craft. It’s not perfect, it’s not entirely original, but the singer-songwriter doesn’t expect anything out of her audience outside of a fair shot. She’s got something to say, but do you have a moment to listen?
Martha Wainwright opens with the wistful, gentle, and lovely Far Away. The sparse, acoustic arrangement showcases her crystalline, girlish voice. While not the most interesting or immediately gratifying offering, it does a good job at acquainting audiences with her style. G.P.T. follows with a magical, simple melody. What really impresses me is that Martha doesn’t shy away from a kind of emotion so honest it’s almost creepy. Think of a less pretentious, more vocally stable Tori Amos and you’re on the right track.
Despite all my appreciation for this talented woman’s songs, I still can’t get into her music. I really do enjoy her “I’ll say anything attitude” on Factory and Ball and Chain but by and large despite her lineage there is little diversity apparently here. Whether or not she’s a one trick pony remains to be seen, but if this album has one major failing is that it simply exists. It doesn’t do anything interesting, doesn’t go any unexpected places, nor does it really show Martha’s personality. I want to hold her and love her similarly to her brother Rufus, but she gives me no warm fuzzies. I’m left dry listening to this album.
Of course this is still a talented singer-songwriter. So what if she sounds like a blend of the aforementioned Amos and her brother. She can sing and she can write—she just comes up emotionally void. Fortunately there are a spare few moments to reel me back. In particular, When the Day is Short is a striking, mellow, and lovely alt-country-pop offering. In fact, Wainwright should really take note, she sounds absolutely perfect when supported by down-home instrumentation. The mid-tempo tune is easily one of the best on this album not to mention timelessly brilliant. Similarly Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole is also fabulous. However unlike the prior song, it is rooted in the tradition of folk music and storytelling. She sounds sweet and innocent even as she repeatedly sings the title.
With just four songs I specifically enjoy it’s impossible to outright recommend this album. Martha’s dry delivery sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Her arrangements are sometimes compelling and sometimes not. Her emotion is sometimes honest and sometimes something less. Like I said earlier, if this album is at all representative of her true talent she is like a less “I’m so important” version of Tori Amos, a less adventurous version of her own brother, and a less relevant version of Grant-Lee Phillips. Oddly enough, I don’t think that this is the best that she has to give. I also don’t think that this is the last we’ll see of Martha Wainwright. Music positively runs in her veins. The talent is there, but the question remains who she will turn out to be.
Simply put, listen to Far Away, G.P.T., When the Day is Short, and Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole. The rest of the disc isn’t horrible, but it’s also not memorable. It blends into nothingness. Wainwright’s voice is nice as is her vision, but her execution leaves something to be desired. Skip pretty much everything else from This Life to Don’t Forget and from Factory to Who Was I Kidding? It’s impossible to believe, but not even her sing-song duet with her brother on The Maker can save this hollow shell of an album.
Unless you are really, really, REALLY fond of female singer songwriters may I suggest skipping this album and waiting to see what Martha does next? In the meantime, I recommend picking up anything and everything Rufus has ever done.
Rating: 2.5/5 stars (rounded down because I’m that disappointed)
Track Listing:
01. Far Away
02. G. P. T.
03. Factory
04. These Flowers
05. Ball & Chain
06. Don’t Forget
07. This Life
08. When the Day is Short
09. Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
10. TV Show
11. The Maker
12. Who Was I Kidding?
13. Whither I Must Wander
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