Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
AFI
65
Air
71
Alice In Chains
77
Amerie
70
Anjulie
85
The Antlers
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound
75
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
56
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
72
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Brendan Benson
72
The Big Pink
96
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
51
Black Mold
59
Amanda Blank
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
77
A.A. Bondy
73
The Bottle Rockets
63
Box Elders
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
87
Brother Ali
70
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
78
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
79
Califone
68
Mariah Carey
84
Brandi Carlile
73
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
69
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
84
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System
68
The Clean
84
The Clientele
71
Cobra Starship
85
Converge
71
Eric Copeland
80
Cymbals Eat Guitars
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
64
Desolation Wilderness
88
Destroyer
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
74
The Duke & The King
66
Bob Dylan
44
The Entrance Band
67
Esser
69
Fanfarlo
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
78
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
77
Fruit Bats
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
59
Gloriana
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
66
Hockey
69
Whitney Houston
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
73
Jessie James
74
Jamie T
83
Japandroids
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
69
Daniel Johnston
76
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
65
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
76
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
84
Miranda Lambert
72
Ledisi
75
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
76
Lightning Dust
73
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
73
Lyle Lovett
66
Lovvers
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
62
Maps
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
77
Malcolm Middleton
77
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
73
Modest Mouse
76
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
62
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie
78
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
78
Nirvana
97
Nirvana
72
Nisennenmondai
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
68
Nurses
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
73
Osso
81
Owen
76
Paramore
76
Pastels And Tenniscoats
51
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
66
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
63
Julian Plenti
66
Robert Pollard
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
80
Q-Tip
80
R.E.M.
89
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
75
The Raveonettes
76
Jay Reatard
82
Reigning Sound
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
79
Russian Circles
69
Buffy Sainte-Marie
73
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
75
Sian Alice Group
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
69
Slaughterhouse
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
62
Mindy Smith
83
Solillaquists Of Sound
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
73
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
65
Joss Stone
75
George Strait
83
Barbra Streisand
76
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78
The Swell Season
76
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
78
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
67
Third Eye Blind
68
Throw Me The Statue
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
71
The Twilight Sad
58
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
70
Various Artists
74
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
71
Kurt Vile
67
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
76
Rufus Wainwright
59
Weezer
80
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59
Andrew W.K.
71
Patrick Wolf
67
Wolfmother
84
The xx
70
YACHT
75
Yim Yames
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
51
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Martha Wainwright
EMAILPRINTby Martha Wainwright
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 33 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Zoe
Release Date: 12 April 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Daughter of Loudon and sister of Rufus, Martha becomes the third Wainwright to release an album in 2005. This self-titled effort is her full-length debut, following on the heels of her subtly-titled EP "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole."
Also By This Artist: I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly
Wainwright's barbed lyrics about love and relationships sound like she scrawled them on a whiskey-soaked night. [22 Apr 2005, p.62]
Stylus Magazine
Wainwright exhibits a rare talent as a confessional singer/songwriter; her album is an impressive, not to mention emotive, first LP from an ambitious artist unwilling to cling to her family’s famous coattails.
Read Full Review >Mojo
This is special, many-layered stuff. [May 2005, p.108]
Slant Magazine
Martha has proven to be not just a worthy pupil of such domestic tutelage, but a musician of equal caliber.
Read Full Review >Blender
She's just as acute as [Rufus] is, as centered on the poetry within the profane, as able to write songs whose meanings stay kept behind doors within doors. [May 2005, p.125]
Uncut
Packed with brilliant, bohemian songs that combine affecting lyrical honesty, beguiling melodies and a voice that has a touch of Alanis Morissette. [May 2005, p.96]
Billboard
Though accenting the vulnerability her vocals naturally possess, she manages world-weary honesty and summoned strength rather than contrived sentimentality.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
It's her fierce nature -- whether saucy and confident or just plain wrecked -- that makes every twist and turn of this impressive debut so easy to fall in love with.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Her voice is a thing of wonder. [Apr 2005, p.123]
The Guardian
Her songs are tough and earthy, hating mere prettiness when fieriness or forcefulness are required.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
Martha takes the golden era of folk and mixes it with modern thematic flair. [#9]
Pitchfork
Martha Wainwright proves Martha Wainwright has a strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity, which would be just as impressive by any other name.
Read Full Review >ShakingThrough.net
Imagining an all-acoustic version of Martha Wainwright hints at the true potential lurking beneath the strings and high-calorie programmatic flourishes that, while undeniably pretty, detract unnecessarily from the eponymous focal point.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
Her walk down the dark side of life and love is often heartbreakingly upfront. [10 Apr 2005]
Dot Music
A confident and accomplished debut, and a pleasant, agreeable diversion.
Read Full Review >No Ripcord
It shows off a fantastic songwriting talent, if not conveying the live magic.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Nothing on her self-titled debut full-length is "genius" or "brilliant," but the material is consistently well written and occasionally very good.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
She's not easy-listening: Martha hisses and purrs, fearlessly articulating anxiety with a lurid charisma.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
While the material may not translate terribly well into the live milieu, this debut is the perfect accompaniment for an intimate evening spent at home with candles and wine.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
Some of Brad Albetta's production veers toward generic pop and threatens to bury both Wainwright's distinctive voice and her lyrics. [Apr/May 2005, p.131]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Robert gave it a10:
One of the most honest singers I've ever heard. Her voice is so soar and beautiful that you can't do anything else exept be moved by it.
Alex gave it a9:
she totally rocks. she has a fabulously unqiue voice, and her lyrics kick ass. B.M.F.A has to be one of the greatest songs I've heard in quite some time.
Joe G gave it a10:
Up there with Joni Mitchell's Blue in many respects, and I urge lovers of that classic to give this a go. Martha's voice and the way she uses it means she could sing the phone book and sound great. Thankfully she has her own songs which are as engaging as her voice and eminently playable if you have a guitar to hand. Lovely warm production too, perfect for late night listening. My favourite of 2005, so it's a 10 from me.
Seamus S gave it a10:
I honestly think Q nailed it. Her voice is something incredible. It flows with a natural kind of confidence that's hard to find in modern music, pushing forward with angst ridden lyrics while never lossing ballance and falling into cleche. She has the air of a seasoned vet and the brilliance to one day become one.
Scott Y gave it an8:
Good stuff, better than pop. Seems like more creative and intelligent songwriting than your average female singer-songwriter. My only wish was that even though Bloody Mother F'ing A-hole is a great song on the album, I can't really play this album around the house since I have little kids around. In any case, it's worth owning.
The Punt gave it a10:
This is, without doubt, the finest album of the year. It is the best album since "Is This It"! Sweet and vulnerable and so goddamn catchy that I hum it all day and play it all night.
Glenn D gave it a10:
Beautifully, melodic and passionate. Beautiful but like a scorpion, has a poisonous skin.
