Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Martha Wainwright - Martha Wainwright

There was certainly a lot of hype and expectation riding on the release of this album. With her mother, father and brother all successful (artistically at least) recording artists, the pressure was surely on. But then again, maybe not. Martha's view's on her parents are plainly on show in the song "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole", and perhaps Martha simply doesn't care for the inevtiable comparisions with her family.

Thankfully shorn of the over-blown, some would say pompous, arrangements that her brother Rufus favours, this is a good album, without ever really threatening to really live up to the expectations some placed on it.

When it's good, as in the afformentioned BMFM, "Ball and Chain" and "TV Show" it's very good, but that level of quality isn't sustained over the whole of the album. It's a promising debut, at times hauntingly beautiful and at others filled with raw, flamed propelled, energy, but, and perhaps this is just me here, I was expecting more. It's well worth a listen, but you get the feeling the best is still yet to come.

Icon's view - 3 out of 5

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