A Talent in Need of Focus

Melismatic-voiced and melancholy, Wainwright seems destined to write a great musical or pop-cabaret song cycle if he can focus himself. He nods in that direction by opening and closing his second album (in stores Tuesday) with the witty, winking “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk,” with its admission that “everything it seems I like’s ... a little bit harmful for me.”

He’s hit the nail on the head--he doesn’t know what’s good for him. While still evoking a cross of Cole Porter and Randy Newman, he lacks their instincts for wicked wordplay and sizzling melodies.

He also isn’t helped by using four producers. While they lead him on intriguing sonic diversions (the spectral strings and background vocals of “Evil Angels,” the subtle electronica of “Shadow”), he’s at his best when least produced. An acoustic version of the droll “One Man Guy” (written by his father, Loudon, and featuring vocals by sister Martha Wainwright) and the piano-accompanied “In a Graveyard” are by far the most affecting moments.

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