Martha Wainwright Albums (2)
'I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too'
Release Date 5/12/2008
Tracks 14
Label Drowned In Sound
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
As strong as Martha Wainwright's self-titled debut album was, her second full-length effort, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, feels like a dazzling surprise, surpassing the first record in artistry and ambition and offering an even more striking picture of her talents. Wainwright's songwriting is every bit as strong on this collection as on her first album (no small achievement), and her skill at defining a character in words is impressive indeed, with uneven relationships dominating but not entirely defining the many people Wainwright brings to life here. As a singer, she's gone from strength to strength on I Know You're Married; sounding like some remarkable fusion of Kate Bush, Patti Smith, and Kate McGarrigle (the latter happens to be her mom), Wainwright has learned how to draw out the drama from songs like "Comin' Tonight," "Bleeding All Over You," and "The George Song," though she's intelligent enough to do so without sinking into melodrama. And while several different producers worked on this album (most notably Brad Alberta and Martin Terefe), the results have a rich, unified sound and feeling, with Wainwright's powerhouse vocals luring the spotlight from a talented team of studio collaborators (including Pete Townshend, Donald Fagen, Garth Hudson, and Martha's brother Rufus) and meshing with arrangements that gracefully go from the spare to the grandiose. While much has been made of Martha Wainwright's place in a family of very talented musicians, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too is the work of a singer and songwriter who stands in no one's shadow and has fashioned a striking voice of her own, and that voice is in full and fascinating flight here. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Martha Wainwright'
Release Date 3/28/2005
Tracks 13
Label Drowned in Sound
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After teasing listeners with the enigmatic Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole EP earlier in the year, singer/songwriter Martha Wainwright comes clean with a lush, eponymous debut that should secure herself a place as one of the genre's finest young practitioners. BMFA, despite its headline-grabbing title, showed an artist of considerable depth and vision, attributes that she builds on tenfold with her first foray into full-length territory. Wainwright tears through words the way her mother, Kate McGarrigle, does, inserting mischievous pauses, experimenting with cadences, or sometimes just pulling the phrase out like a wad of taffy, while all of the while in complete control of the overall narrative. On the gorgeous opener, "Far Away," she waxes nostalgic for old friends and lovers. Backed by swirling guitars and piano she pines "I have no children/I have no husband/I have no reason to be alive/Oh give me one" without seeming the least bit ruined -- a poetic knack that she uses effectively throughout the record's entirety. It's a brave and delicate way to begin, and it engages the listener immediately with its subtle balance of voyeurism and wistfulness. "G.P.T." and "Factory" pick up the pace a bit, showcasing Wainwright's deft melodicism and mischievous nature -- the latter is in full effect on the raunchy "Ball & Chain" -- and "Don't Forget" and "These Flowers," two achingly beautiful ballads that bring to mind early Joni Mitchell, round out a first half that's awfully hard to top. Despite a couple of questionable midtempo offerings, Wainwright manages to keep the quality high, with a lovely duet with brother Rufus ("The Maker") and the aforementioned "BMFA," which is far more bold and beautiful than the title suggests, before closing with an intimate and affecting rendition of Vaughan Williams' "Whither Must I Wander." Wainwright's got all of the familial genes that make a child of music destined for success, but it's her fierce nature -- whether saucy and confident or just plain wrecked -- that makes every twist and turn of this impressive debut so easy to fall in love with. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
