For the first time in her life, MARTHA WAINWRIGHT is confident and content. She spoke to Garrett Bithell ahead of her upcoming Australian tour.

It has been said that part of Martha Wainwright’s charm lies in her Tourette’s-like impulse to overshare. Indeed her 2005 self-titled debut album was a beautifully brutal psychodrama – the angst-ridden by-product of an anxious, angry artist. Perhaps the most memorable track was the lovingly titled ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’, an acerbic ode to her father, Loudon Wainwright III.

    “I don’t know if I overshare of if I just lack subtlety,” Wainwright tells AXN.

“I want to be honest, and I have allowed myself to sort of open up the curtains while I’m getting dressed.”

    But the Martha Wainwright of 2008 is a different woman. Her sophomore album, I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, released earlier this year, clearly reflects that evolution. It would be a mistake to think she’s mellowed, but she certainly has grown.

    “There’s a little bit less fear in my life,” she reveals.

“Since releasing the first record I always suspected that I really needed help, but the ability to tour around the world and be exposed to a lot of kind words and meaningful experiences has made me feel more comfortable in myself as having something to offer.”

    One can understand Wainwright’s fear. She is pure musical blue blood – the daughter of American folk stars (her mother is Kate McGarrigle), and the sister of avant-garde prodigy Rufus. Her tumultuous family life was responsible for much of the material on her debut, but they are largely spared this time around.

    “I write songs that are really about what I’m going through,” Wainwright says.

“A lot of what people deal with when they’re young is about their family – at least in my case it was. But then you start to move beyond that are able to pull yourself out of your own arse and your own life and perhaps see the bigger picture.”

    Death, heartbreak and the horror of war are among the themes her swooping vocals get to grips with on the new album, but there is also happiness, humour and, in ‘You Cheated Me’, a blend of primetime Pretenders and Blondie-esque pop. Wainwright credits this broader palette to her new confidence, something perhaps acquired by spending much of the past three years on tour. But she is also enjoying happiness in her home life – last year she married her producer, Brad Albetta, with whom she lives in Brooklyn.

    “I’m not as angry, but I’m also not as lonely,” she muses.

“It’s always interesting to work with your partner, but I think in music it makes a lot of sense. You’re on the road for months at a time, and I think it would be a difficult thing to maintain a relationship with someone who was at home – who you couldn’t travel with, or play with.

    “I don’t know if I was smart enough to design it that way, to find a man who is willing to really put himself in the back sear often, although drive the car! I feel very privileged and very lucky.”

    Wainwright now enjoys a very close relationship with Rufus. “I get along with Rufus fantastically now,” she says.

“I think it’s been a lot easier for me now that I’ve put out two records and I feel like I’m accomplishing some of the things I wanted to accomplish.

    “Rufus is obviously incredibly successful and strong-willed and ambitious; he always has been. It took me a long time to realise that it takes a lot of self-confidence to do this kind of work. But now I feel I can participate more and the chip on my shoulder is finally filling up.”

    Moreover, she performed a mesmeric version of ‘Stormy Weather’ when Rufus recreated Judy Garland’s 1961 Carnegie Hall show in 2006. “That was one of the greatest stage experiences in my life,” Wainwright says.

“I thank him for having the guts to come up with such a great idea and actually make it happen.”

    Wainwright is heading to Australia in November for a national tour. “I have been there quite a few times now, so it’s becoming a home away from home – a home very far away from home,” she laughs. “Audiences are less jaded than in New York and more rowdy than in Canada, so overall better!”

    But before Wainwright graces our shores, she is off to the west coast of Greenland with a 40-strong crew of artists and scientists including KT Tunstall, Feist and Jarvis Cocker for Cape Farewell’s Disko Bay expedition. The initiative aims to inspire the creative team to respond to climate change both in the Arctic and on their return. 

    “In this business there’s a lot of bullshit – a lot of worrying about what you’re wearing and what you’re going to look like,” Wainwright tells.

”And all that stuff matters, but it’s going to be nice to actually put things into perspective.”

I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too is out now. For tour dates and further information, visit marthawainwright.com or myspace.com/marthawainwright