Martha Wainwright is the newest entry from a family of folk royalty that has spawned arguably the most brilliantly prolific singer/songwriter working today - her brother Rufus. For those who are new to the genealogy, Martha and Rufus are the children of folk legends Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. Unlike Rufus Wainwright who has forged a unique musical legacy that transcends the influences of his parents, Martha's music is certainly akin to her Mother and Aunt Anna's style, albeit with a more urbane bent.

Martha style is certainly remindful of the brilliant Tanya Donelly, particularly her lesser known solo work beyond her salad days as a member of the Breeders, Throwing Muses and Belly. Martha often evinces Donelly's breathy, girlish vocal style, and her spare arranged songstyling bares a favorable resemblance to Tanya (which is just fine by me, as I consider Donelly to be the most gifted female songwriter of the last 15 years).. However on her more folk/country songs she sounds more like a cross between her mother and Gillian Welch.

The album itself is an impressive debut, despite a marked lack of diversity there's plenty of rich melody and plaintive, introspective wordplay to recommend it quite highly. Just as a word of caution, don't make the mistake I made - I put it on at work as soon as I got my hands on it, and started listening to it pretty much out of the corner of my ear. As I was helping an elderly customer I could have swore I heard Martha say "You Bloody Motherfucking Asshole," and after she'd repeated the line about 8 times I was more than convinced that indeed she was saying "You Bloody Motherfucking Asshole." After the woman left (also convinced that she'd heard the aforementioned lyric herself) I checked the liner notes and any doubts were erased as I read the title of track 9, "Bloody Motherf**cking Asshole."

Though Martha has is offering this song in an EP, it's not her finest work. In fact I'd say it's close to being the weakest track on the record. Not to worry however, it's easy enough to skip a track these days and happily there are very few songs on Martha's debut that will inspire one to hit the skip button. Fast becoming one of my favorite tracks is the closer "Wither I Must Wander," which is a cover of Vaughn Williams' British folk standard. Her rendition is almost hymn-like and the one song that makes it clear that Martha is momma's girl.