Every bit as dreamy and timeless as one might expect from the master of the contemporary torch song, Rufus Wainwright's newest record (the first of a two album set) scales the dizzy heights of passion ("Movies of Myself") and the deepest valleys of melancholy ("Dinner at Eight" and "Vibrate," which manages to express the intersection of technology and wishful thinking better than any other ballad pertaining to cell phone usage).
Always adept with heartfelt expression and clever turns-of-phrase, Wainwright here continues to explore the motivational and destructive aspects of beauty and how its whims shake us all to our foundations. His nasal tenor soars on the tracks here, and new producer Marius de Vries (Bjork, Madonna) incorporates some musically exciting elements to the mix (the Motown girl-group drumming on "Movies of Myself" is a personal fave), but die hard Wainwright fans won't be disappointed, as "Want" and "Harvester of Hearts" sound like they could have come from his pianolicious debut.
This record is like a comfortable tavern with a fireplace, somewhere to mix chemical euphoria with natural warmth and the comfort of strangers.
The velvety arrangements fit the spine so nicely, and yeah, it's a little bit smoky, but it's so nice just to luxuriate in it all.
