Martha Wainwright

Annie Zaleski

Thursday, June 19, 2008 | midnight

The solo records released by Rufus Wainwright have grown increasingly opulent (and, at times, unlistenable) in recent years. His little sister Martha, meanwhile, seemed to be on a more accessible path after a lovely 2005 full-length full of gentle, straightforward folk-pop. Married, that album’s follow-up, is at once less conventional and more self-assured.

Wainwright’s vocals are more confident, ranging from a Joanna Newsom-like girlish warble (“Tower Song”) to a delivery that’s the lovechild of PJ Harvey’s growl and Neko Case’s twang (“In the Middle of the Night”). Accordingly, Married’s songs are stylistically diverse: “You Cheated Me” is sunny California rock in the vein of Fleetwood Mac, while “Comin’ Tonight” and “Hearts Club Band” are askew country warbles and “So Many Friends” is confessional rock driven by piano and acoustic guitar.

As expected, Rufus adds imperceptible vocals to “The George Song,” while mom Kate McGarrigle shows up to sing on a fantastic cover of Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play.” (More impressive, Pete Townshend contributes guitars on two songs.) The problem is that no amount of extra orchestration or star power can make these songs sound, well, less boring. Married has sonic depth and sounds beautifully recorded, but Wainwright is still coming into her own as a songwriter—which means that the album’s tunes often need tightening or editing. This isn’t a fatal flaw, but with such a pedigree behind her, expectations for her music—for better or for worse—are higher.

The bottom line: ***