Gorgeous Confessional Rock
Martha Wainwright is the penultimate act on the Uncut Stage on the first day of Latitude. It's a strange place on the bill with headliners Amadou & Mariam far less well known that the Canadian-American singer/songwriter and younger sibling of Rufus. Unfortunately Martha also suffers significantly from the fact that Julian Cope runs abysmally overtime after attempting a longwinded soundcheck, and the singer's set is now cut to around 7 tracks packed into 25 minutes or so, which is a terrible shame for the packed tent full of people hoping to see her. She kicks off with the first single from her new album, 'My Heart Was Made For Bleeding', which is a dreamy and passionate tune. There's a fair mix of ballsy guitar rock with soaring vocals, slowbuilding ballads and sharp acoustic rock told with vitriol; unlike many of her female singer/songwriter counterparts, Martha Wainwright has balls and isn't afraid to tell it the way she sees it. Title track from her new album, 'I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too' ups the confessional rock tone with fiery vocals, before Fyfe from Guillemots joins the singer onstage for a brief, captivating duet. There's another special guest in the form of Slow Moe who adds some beatboxing percussion to the delicate, 'This Life', even though no one in the crowd seems sure who this character is, it goes down a treat, giving the tune a punchy rhythm and getting the crowd moving and in the swing of things. 'Factory' is the other obvious highlight, it's instantly epic and receives a warm welcome. It's impossible to say that Wainwright is not well-received and there are several hundred people leaving the tent slightly disappointed after she announces that her set has to be cut short; let's hope she returns to the UK soon.