Being the scion of a famous musical clan can be an insurmountable burden, but it only seems to have inspired Martha Wainwright. She has avoided emulating either her parents or bro Rufus, and manages to elude most of the cliches of female singer-songwriterhood.
Her songs are tough and earthy, hating mere prettiness when fieriness or forcefulness are required. She'll wrestle her hang-ups and problems to the ground and kick them in the teeth rather than quit, as in the furious rant about sex, Ball & Chain, or the great spew-it-out tirade of Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole.
Not that she can't be elegant and poetic, it's just that there's always a twist in the lyric or a rasp in her throat to warn you that these songs might blow up in your face.
