The Wainwright bloodline has thrown up some of the best USA singer/songwriter talent to emerge in recent years. Martha Wainwright is the latest in that glorious bloodline, and arguably the most interesting. This four-song E.P. is the prelude to a full album penned for release next year. At Shakenstir our philosophy has always been to cover and talk about artists we regard as special. But what does ‘special’ mean? One of the UK’s most experienced music critics last year described Johnny Cash as having a questionable singing voice but praised the album to hell. Great music is about communication and there’s no doubt in my mind that Cash was a fine communicator, with a voice that had ball-grabbing quality, a compelling quality. But that’s only part of the story. He covered and wrote great songs, as was illustrated with his last studio album (that I believe will come to be regarded as a classic recording). Time and time again in our album reviews of the very best the words ‘distinction’ and ‘original’ crop up. The words ‘melody’ and ‘lyrical quality’ also feature heavily along with the word, ‘emotional’. In describing Martha Wainwright’s E.P. all these words are highly relevant, to describe a very special and original alt-country talent.

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