Rumer - Boys Don't Cry (abum review)

This review appeared in the fifth edition of BULL published in 2012 magazine.

With Boys Don’t Cry, British songstress Rumer eschews the pitfalls of the notoriously dangerous sophomore album by taking an unusual approach: releasing a set of obscure 70’s covers.  If your parents are looking to relieve days gone by, they might be better off with Rod Stewart’s American Songbook Volume 17, unless said parents are veritable 70’s aficionados. Evidently not one for taking what might have been a more commercially obvious route, Rumer covers a smattering of forgotten album tracks, middling successes and a sole US Top 5 hit– Hall & Oates’ ‘Sara Smile’. Thus, for all intents and purposes Boys Don’t Cry serves the same purpose (for most listeners, at least) as an album of original tracks would.

Rumer is in possession of an incredibly smooth voice, and seems comfortable in her restraint. She graciously remains true to the melodies of the tracks rather than caterwauling all over them, proving to be a refreshing counterpoint to the barrage of female vocalists who feel they need to constantly put their skills on show. An obvious word to describe the album is ‘pleasant’, but that doesn’t quite cover the simplistic, entrancing beauty of Rumer’s vocals. In fact, I dare say Rod Stewart can wait.