Martha Wainwright’s got feelings too

When asked whether her and big brother Rufus plan on making a full-length record together Martha Wainwright said: 'I could see that. I could definitely see down the line working more together.' (SUN MEDIA FILE)

Her first album was the angry one. Emotions ran sharp, and with songs like ‘Bloody Mother F--king A—hole,’ which was written about her father, the target was hard to miss.

But if her self-described “navel-grazing” period was fodder for her 2005 debut, singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright says her recent follow-up – “I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too” – focuses less on her own personal problems and more on the world around her.

“I think that with the second record, the songs are a little more outward looking and less autobiographical,” she says, speaking by phone from Montreal. “The first record was written between the ages of 18 and 24, which I think for anyone is a period for self discovery.

“As I get older, I’m more intrigued about the state of the world,” continues Wainwright, who will be in Toronto on Saturday night for a show at the Danforth Music Hall. “Larger subjects that are more about humanity in general interest me more.”

That isn’t to say the singer, who is known for marrying confessional lyrics to breathy vocals, is done singing about herself. No, she laughs, it’s just hard for her to make one type of record. "I think it would bore me after awhile," says Wainwright.

“Playing with different musicians, whether it’s singing a pop song with Snow Patrol or doing Seven Deadly Sins in London with the Royal Ballet, these variations are inciting my taste and what I want to do.”

Special appearances by the Who’s Pete Townsend, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and the Band’s Garth Hudson on her sophomore release gave her an excuse to experiment with her eccentric side.

“Pete and Don are friends, but they’re also fans,” she says. “Throughout my career, they’ve both been generous with their advice.”

Some of the tracks sling barbs at ex-lovers. One song – “In the Middle of the Night” – deals with her mother’s brush with cancer. But since her recent marriage to producer Brad Albetta, Wainwright says she’s happier.

“I tried to do so many new things on the record and because I love to do covers, I thought it would be fun to try (the Eurythmics’) 'Love is a Stranger.' I’m a huge Annie Lennox fan,” she gushes.

As part of a family of well-known musicians (her father is songwriter Loudon Wainwright III; her mother Canadian folk icon Kate McGarrigle; and her big brother, Rufus, is a critics darling), she says it was hard to craft her own sound when she was younger.

“I have a very eclectic taste and wasn’t sure how that would work,” says the singer, who got her start singing back-up for Rufus. “But after making my first record, it felt great to be able to walk into the studio somewhat established and just focus on the music and having a good time.”

So if the album was more liberating musically, then why a title that seems all about revisiting old wounds?

“I thought it was funny,” she says coyly. “Like the first record, it’s very much representative of the time in which it was made.

“What interests me most as an artist is how as I evolve through life and make changes, that gets represented in my music.”

Martha Wainwright plays Toronto's Danforth Music Hall on Dec. 6, Montreal’s Metropolis Dec. 12, Quebec City’s Palais Montcalm Dec. 16 and Ottawa's Bronson Centre Dec. 20.

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