I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too

Already a sure bet for album title of the year, the second album from Martha Wainwright is a progression from the quiet/angry debut of 2005. IKYMBIGFT (takes almost as long as typing out the full title) might also be up there for best album of the year, if it’s given half a chance. This time around it’s a laid back affair, but acoustic guitars and vocals are still to the fore, and there’s almost a country feel to some of the tracks (don’t be alarmed, it’s more Emmylou than Shania!). Opening track Bleeding All Over You is all sweet melody and light orchestrations, and might almost be dismissed as a bit too fluffy, until some of the killer lines are delivered – “you’ve got a girlfriend and I can only talk about her for so very long”, “You moved up North, you’ve got a farmhouse, there’s cowshit in your brain and love in your heart”. Tracks like You Cheated Me and Comin’ Tonight have an almost pop feel, both with choruses that won’t get out of your head for days. The tempo slows around the halfway mark, with the anti-war Tower Song and In The Middle of the Night, but picks up again with soaring harmonies on The George Song (spot the guest vocalist!) and gets jaunty with a cover of the trippy Syd Barrett song See Emily Play.

She’s not as angry this time around, but that doesn’t take anything away from IKYMBIGFT. It’s a grower, as they say in de biz, you’ll get hooked by her powerful voice, and then drawn in further after a while by the dark humour of some brilliant lyrics. An album for a lazy Sunday afternoon, hammock optional, attention essential.

4/5 for Ms. Wainwright, or Mrs Whatever she might also be called, now that she’s gotten married. (sob!)

(Look at that, I wrote a whole review without mentioning her brother, mother or father! It’s that good!)

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