Slow by Rumer
Let’s kick off this review by trotting out all of the Rumer comparisons. Tipped the next Karen Carpenter and Carole King, she has a heavy mantle to assume. Even Burt Bacharach is a fanboi. Tall billing for a young singer, indeed!
And onto the Slow, Rumer’s debut single. It’s impossible to ignore Karen Carpenter in Slow’s world-weary, pop maneuvers.
Rumer cites a starry team as influences – amongst the inevitable nods to Carpenter and King, up pops unexpected references to Cilla Black, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson and the entire cadre of the Laurel Canyon in the 60s. Those influences shine through in Rumer’s vocals. Smooth like glossy marble she defines arches for the structure of the Slow to sit on. One wonders what Rumer would sound like a capella or with just a brush of a snare.
Just like its companion video, Slow is steeped in languid moods. You can smell the Summer sun. Accompanying percussion cuts softly through piano and guitar, but Rumer pulls the tune out of itself before it becomes predictable with a soft punch of her feathery vocals. Undeniably, Rumer is a star in the making.
Slow goes on release on August 23rd. Free download of Rumer’s cover of Paul Simon’s Long, Long Day.
Rumer plays Dublin’s Academy on October 16th supporting Joshua Radin.
Label: Atlantic Records
Rumer interview (beware, it autoplays!)
Posted by Alexia
on 11:07 am. Filed under Hot Picks, Latest Column, Music.
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