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Poses
05/08/2001 5:39 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor
If ever anyone nailed their own essence with an album title, itÆs our man Rufus. With an elastic talent--lyrically witty, vocally gifted, compositionally unusual--and a vague hyperactivity that keeps all the beach balls in the air simultaneously, Wainwright likes nothing more than trying on playful exteriors to match his churning insides.
As a young person with obvious talent it always falls to the record industry to match such ambition with perfectionist taskmasters who add their own weirdness and neuroses to the table. Producer Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan) layers the sounds every which way, keeping the path clear for WainwrightÆs Ron Sexsmith-like delivery (must be a Canadian thing--young Rufus grew up in Montreal). Tempos shuffle along, pianos clink like empty glasses, and you can practically hear the sunshine bursting out of someoneÆs behind. He obsesses on necessary vices ("Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk"), seductive vacation spots ("California"), and keeps the family rolling in publishing royalties (a cover of dadÆs "One Man Guy"). Rufus may have a deviant streak, but heÆs a good son at heart.
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