WAINWRIGHT SISTERS

THE WAINWRIGHT SISTERS

Songs in the Dark Half-sisters Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche are both veteran songwriters as well as second-generation musicians. Songs in the Dark, their first musical collaboration, is an exploration of the creepy side of lullabies. The Wainwright Sisters’ voices blend together perfectly, and the melodies here are calming — almost too much so. (Don’t listen to this while driving.) A close listen to the lyrics, though, reveals the darker side of bedtime stories. Narratives of poverty, frustration and hardship are the order of the evening here, along with moments of bloody horror, like the English murder ballad “Long Lankin.” Buy this for a new parent, sure, but tell them to play it low at bedtime. The melodies might be for rocking infants to sleep, but the lyrics are full of the fears and stresses that crop up after midnight. (MapleMusic, maplemusicrecordings.com)

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO MAKE MUSIC WITH LUCY FOR THE FIRST TIME?

Martha Wainwright: The idea of this record was mine, but I realized that this could be a nice way to try and sing with Lucy, and see what that could sound like. So I invited her up, and it was really quickly obvious that we’re just naturally good at singing together. It was that simple, like, “You take this verse, I’ll take that verse, then I’ll go to the harmony…” and the kids were running around the whole time. We’d practice for an hour, and go make dinner. We were really lazy about it!

WHY DO YOU THINK LULLABIES OFTEN HAVE SUCH BLEAK LYRICS?

One reason is that often the parent, usually the mother, would have a lot on her chest. And who is the one person who will listen to her, and not talk back? The baby, nursing, looking into her eyes, and she can take that time to talk about how her husband isn’t coming back, or there isn’t any money. You get sad at night sometimes, and with these songs, you’re allowed to have that exchange with your children, they’re allowed to see you at that low moment. EMILY ZIMMERMAN