For her self-titled debut album, singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright has no interest in sounding like anyone else.

"I just wanted to put these songs down that I've been singing for a long time and really just convey myself," she says assuredly over the phone from New York City.

"I think it's the story of a woman in her 20's, namely me, and though young people tend to be a bit navel-gazing I've tried to do it in an interesting way."

But when you share the same musical pedigree as singer-songwriters Anna McGarrigle (her aunt), Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III (her parents) and the operatic Rufus Wainwright (her brother), releasing your first album can be a little nerve racking.

"There was definite pressure to make a good record," the 29-year-old says, "because Kate and Anna and Rufus and Loudon are so talented and good at what they do.

"Quality sounding records were something I grew up listening to and watched people in my family make and I knew that it was really important to have good vocal sound on my record."

And after releasing two EPs - the first entitled "Factory" in 2002 and the second cheekily called "Bloody Mother F***ing A**hole" in 2004 - Wainwright felt the time was right to step into the spotlight.

"I started writing songs a long time ago and I've been out there playing them for five or six years and it was just really important that it happened," she says.

Wainwright began work on the album about two-and-half years ago, but didn't find the right producer until she met Brad Albetta.

"I might be a little more hardheaded, but Brad invited me to his studio and agreed to do the album on spec."

And the end result has been more than worth the wait.

Her whiskey-soaked vocals, which have provided the perfect background accompaniment on Rufus' grandiose solo efforts, have a richness that has screamed for its own platform.

Take the vocal resonance of Hope Sandoval and Stevie Nicks and warm it a few degrees and you'll have some idea of how emotionally hypnotic Wainwright's voice truly is.

But that's not to say her songs are in any way bleak.

"I think I've put forward the story of my life in the last eight years and tracks like 'BMFA,'" she pauses for effect, "are an anthem of youth.

"More than anything with this record I was trying to convince myself that I'm good enough to do this and serious enough to do it," she says confidently.

And critics agree. "BMFA" was declared one of the best songs of 2004 by London's Sunday Times and Rolling Stone called the track "a blistering prelude to her debut album."

Wainwright admits her disc isn't as lush as some of her brother's more opulent tracks, but its spare rawness is what gives her sound uniqueness. It's a musical kaleidoscope that conjures dreamy country ("Far Away"), calorie-reduced punk ("Ball & Chain"), folkie blues ("Who Was I Kidding") and ethereal atmospherics ("The Maker").

But it was important to her that while the album displays her own distinct musicianship, her lyrics remain true to herself.

"I have a tendency to well up with feelings and emotions and then spurt them out," she laughs. "But I like making every line important to express exactly what it is that I am feeling."

Martha Wainwright plays The Main Hall in Montreal on April 18 and follows with a sold out show at the Drake Hotel in Toronto April 19.