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 OK, let's get the dull family stuff out of the way. Martha is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. Yes, she is Rufus Wainwright's sister. Can we leave the genealogy s*** alone now and talk about the music? You see, Martha's music is far more interesting than her family tree (no offence to her family, all talented people but this is not about them). Martha has got a voice to die for. You can hear the cigarettes, the booze, the heart-break, the life, all wrapped up in a gorgeous, cracked vocal that can drawl and can soar too.
Not only does she have a beautiful and unique voice, but she can also write some killer songs. Her lyrics are brutally honest, simply put arrestingly effective. The album contains so many different moods that it's like an emotional rollercoaster as she leads you through the twists and turns of a life lived in this strange modern world. I've never heard anyone make swearing so moving and affecting like she does on the song "Bloody Mother F**king ******* ", a devastatingly frank talk of fathers and daughters. At the moment, every major label is firing off bland, commercial, female singer/songwriters but Martha Wainwright is the real deal. No lies, no compromise, no false fluffiness - just life in all it's ugly detail. This is one hell of a debut album.
After four years, Nick Warren and Jody Wisternoff are back with their second
album. Times have changed and they have escaped the evil clutches of major
label hell and landed happily in the lap of credible indie Distinctive Breaks,
where their brand of progressive house sits beautifully alongside other notables
of the genre. So has freedom made them indulgent? Well, this is not a concept
album, there"s no collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi and no necrophiliac samples.
This is just good quality dance music. It opens with the dazzling classic, " the
Fall". Based around a sample from Mixmaster Morris" superb ambient remix of
Coldcut"s "Autumn Leaves", this takes a beautiful standard and makes it get
up and dance. It sounds as good on it"s feet as it did on it"s arse. Although
nearly all the tracks here get the blood flowing faster with their pumping
beats and throbbing bass-lines, it is still a good home listening album and
not just a DJ tool. "Call Me" is dirty electro funk with 0898 samples, "Shark
Hunt" is a psychedelic groove and "Stealth" is all soulful vocals and chilled
beats. You really never know what"s coming next. "UB Devoid" starts off all
evil breaks and eastern flutes with an old school ambient synth riff before
building into a thoroughly modern prog house stormer. This is a dance album
of distinction.
Everybody's saying it so much that it's become a cliché, but like all
the best clichés it's probably true. 'Elephant' must be the best rock
album out this year. There may only be the two of them, but damn do they make
a powerful sound. Meg beats the drums and damn, that Jack White can play guitar.
Whe ther it's big dirty blues like 'Ball and Biscuit' or sweet love songs like 'I
Want To Be the Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart' or 'It's True That We Love
One Another', they're head and shoulders above the others. Every single song
on here jumps out of the speakers and hits you right between the eyes. For
all those armchair rockers who just buy one CD a year when they hear everyone
kick up a fuss about it, let me spell it out - this is the album you have been
waiting for. Back to basics rock & roll with no frills and plenty of thrills.
If you don't own it, get it. If you don't want to get it, then what the hell
are you doing looking at a music website?
the WHITE STRIPES - "GET BEHIND ME SATAN" (XL Recordings)
 You should by now know the White Stripes, so what could surprise you about this record? Well, a lot. Jack & Meg have taken a big leap forward in sound. For the first time, you can hear more of their hometown Detroit's soul legacy in their music than you can it's classic rock and roll. Jack plays a lot of piano, even a bit of banjo. Meg's drumming seems to have more of a classic soul feel. Hell, even the vocals are veering more towards classic soul and blues than rock 'n' roll. Jack has finally gotten over Led Zeppelin and become himself completely.
It all works a treat from album opener (and debut single) "Blue Orchid" to the sing-a-long bop of "My Doorstep" (surely a hot contender for next single), it's the White Stripes party record. Gospel, blues, country, soul and some rock 'n' roll all make for one hell of a great album. Once again, they come up with another amazing, classic album closer. "I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)" which is how the Beatles "Hey Jude" would have sounded if it had been recorded in Nashville with Ray Charles. They're still as enigmatic and inscrutable as ever, and they're still making great records. The White Stripes truly have earned their place as one of the great bands of our times.
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