Second album of folk-pop from the son of Loudon Wainwright III. More stripped-down than his self-titled 1998 debut, but still showcasing his classic songwriting style. Features a collaboration with the Propellerheads' Alex Gifford and a cover of his dad's 'One Man Guy'.

Jun 2001

Once a de rigeur scheme in the song-writing way of doing things, the one man plus piano formula has only recently completed the full circle of fashion. And, with the likes of Ed Harcourt re-perfecting the art of the perfectly scripted song, 'Poses' fits so neatly into the frame it's almost as if Rufus Wainwright started all this. Elegant, intense and refined, 'Poses' is the album that's favourite to be playing in the background when M. Stipe and T. Yorke sit down to tea.

• Alternative Press (2/02, p.65) - Ranked #20 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001".
  Mojo (1/02, p.69) - Ranked #6 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001".
  Magnet (12-1/02, p.57) - Included in Magnet's "20 Best Albums of 2001".
  NME (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #8 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001".
  Rolling Stone (6/21/01, p.76) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Great pop....the best of POSES transmits the impatient, careening, manic life of a pleasure seeking New Yorker and still keeps a carefully calibrated lightweight focus, the way those old, literate pop songs did..."
  Spin (7/01, pp.128-30) - 7 out of 10 - "...He reels witty pop reincarnations of the classical lieder he reveres, delivered in a lugubrious burr that's distinct and sophisticated....never running short on clever conceit."u
  Q Magazine (8/01, p.142) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...An album of love songs and broken promises, exquisite and truly infectious..."
  Vibe (6/01, p.136) - 4 discs out of 5 - "...Utterly human, deeply personal, and heroically fresh."
  Entertainment Weekly (6/8/01, p.76) - "...With Broadway-worthy new standards, and a strong supporting cast...Wainwright delivers a flawless, flip-flop-less performance..." - Rating: A
  Alternative Press (7/01, pp.86-7) - 8 out of 10 - "...Built upon [his] mastery of highly composed, early-20th-century popular-song styles..."
  Mojo (7/01, pp.108-9) - "...Transparently gorgeous..."
  NME (6/9/01, p.39) - 8 out of 10 - "...It sees Wainwright displaying splendid musical finery..."
  CMJ (6/4/01, p.5) - "...Brilliant..."

Personnel includes: Rufus Wainwright (vocals, guitar, piano); Jeff Hill, Damian Legassick (guitar, keyboards, programming); Julie Dupras (violin); Melissa Auf Der Maur (bass); Butch, Kevin Hupp, Michael Vincent Chaves (drums); Alex Gifford.
Producers include: Pierre Marchand, Alex Gifford, Damian Legassick, Ethan Johns, Damian Legassick.
When Rufus Wainwright first appeared on the music scene, the public was startled not only by the fact that this son of legendary musicians (a McGarrigle Sister and papa Loudon) was a true artist in his own right, but that he had a sound that set him so far apart from any of his contemporaries. Wainwright's second record POSES doesn't need to blaze any new stylistic ground since he's already so distinctively operating in his own furrow. The album pretty much picks up where its predecessor left off, offering elaborate, piano-based melodies that owe more to Tin Pan Alley (or at their most modern, Brian Wilson) than to any contemporaneous trend. The arrangements are rich with unusual harmonies, which serve Wainwright's unusual voice and lyrics extremely well. His high, keening tenor lets loose a torrent of self-effacing lyrics that examine his own place in the world with a cynic's mind and a believer's heart. The cynic, represented mostly by the witty turns of phrase, spends most of POSES battling it out with the believer, given voice by the lustrous melodic turns. Here's hoping they keep their aesthetically rewarding conflict going for a long time to come.

Although Rufus Wainwright is the son of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright and Kate McGarrigle, since the 1990s he has firmly established his own musical presence. Though he's an introspective troubadour, he looks back beyond the folk and rock influences of his parents to the golden age of pop songwriting  la Cole Porter and the Gershwins. His keening, diva-manqu vocals and elegantly melodic compositions are as far from "rock" as any pop-based music can be. If he has any antecedents in the pop world, they would be similarly quirky L.A. songwriters of a previous era such as Van Dyke Parks (who co-produced Wainwright's debut album) and Randy Newman. His open homosexuality has endeared him to many in the gay community.