Sarah Joyce, better known by her stage name Rumer, broke through in 2010 with her critically lauded and commercially successful debut, Seasons of my Soul. Instead of facing the daunting task of releasing a second LP of original content, the Pakistani-born British-based songstress has decided on a covers album of little-known 1970s songs, all of which were originally sung by men.
By doing so, Rumer has bypassed two dreaded clichés in music. This isn’t just another covers album and her choice has all but ruled out that anyone will be labelling this album as ‘difficult’, with an LP of original material planned for the near future.
Covering songs that many have long since forgotten or never heard of gives Rumer the upper hand, as some will never have to compare the tracks with their counterparts. This task always inevitably ends in favour of the original artists, but Rumer’s motives weren’t so much strategical as an ode to those artists – like Tim Hardin, Ronnie Lane and Jimmy Webb – that haven’t been immortalised like their well-remembered peers.
Her re-imagination of these classics don’t leave that era, but she does bring a sensitive feminine touch to the songs. While comfortably stuck in a calm pace, the singer ventures out from the soul genre, albeit briefly as she goes country on Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Flyin’ Shoes’ and a drastic re-reading of Hall & Oates’ ‘Sara Smile’.
Rumers re-workings, whilst never ruining their counterparts, don’t ever stray from pleasant territory. Boy’s Don’t Cry is just a brief interval before her real second album sees the light of day. This is one to be gift wrapped for Mothers Day, and that’s not meant as a slight, but while this may be a solid album it could never be as fulfilling as her long awaited new material.
– Corey Tonkin
