The death of singer Kate McGarrigle casts a shadow over her son's first truly solo album. Accompanying himself on piano, Wainwright croons mournfully about New York City, his family ("Martha"), and his own self-pity ("Sad with What I Have"). Adaptations of three romantic Shakespeare sonnets seem to lift his spirits; those lead up to "Zebulon," in which thoughts of an old flame distract him from his mother's final days.