by Tom Johnson
The sophomore album from the sister of Rufus, and daughter of Loudon III and Kate McGarrigle wasn’t a batch of wimpy Lilith Fair material. Martha may be blessed with the pipes of an angel, but she sings about real-world angst that leaves you white-knuckled and nervous. In the end, she may just be Aimee Mann’s spiritual opposite: Where Mann populates her soundscapes with the desperate and the downtrodden, Wainwright’s world is filled with the kind of people who leave every scene bruised and kicking, and maybe fretting over a broken nail or two with a sly grin. She’s got spunk, and she’s got a voice, like Emmylou Harris, that’ll leave you weak at the knees at times. I bet that’s just how she likes it, too.
‘Half Notes’ are quick-take thoughts on music from Something Else! Reviews, presented whenever the mood strikes us.
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