I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too (Zoe/Rounder): A-
Wainwright steps out from the shadow of her family tree on her sophomore set and rips the folkie template to shreds. Her startling experiments are a grab bag of wrenching ballads, progressive pop, girl-group-noir and two keenly rendered covers (the early Pink Floyd classic “See Emily Play” and a strikingly earthy run through Eurythmics’ “Love is a Stranger”). All of it gets delivered with a quirky emotional sincerity that’s equal parts outrage, bitterness and humor. Wainwright’s parched and pitchy rasp may not be everyone’s pleasure, but the portrait of madness and frustration it conveys rings more true than the work of her prettier-voiced peers. Download: “You Cheated Me.”
