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Review
Rumer – born in Pakistan but introduced to folk (and, presumably, soul) music when her family moved to Hampshire – is a great voice who’s done things the old-fashioned way. Shunning the bright lights of prime-time exposure (believe me, she could win any such show), she developed her songs over a lengthy period of time, working menial jobs to make ends meet. Now, deservedly, her breakthrough has come. More improbably, her producer here is Steve Brown, who appeared on the Alan Partridge-helmed Knowing Me Knowing You series. Brown’s an award-winning composer, though, and his touch guides several of these songs to a finished state where graceful melodies barely mask emotions far weightier than those typically associated with pop newcomers.
Comparisons to Karen Carpenter and Laura Nyro have been made in the past, and rightly so – Rumer’s voice, bruised but unbowed, soft but sturdy, is hugely evocative of those vocalists. But there are plenty of contemporary parallels to be drawn, too. Healer’s skeletal arrangement, topped by cautious lyrics of uncertain love, is reminiscent of New York singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia. It gets a little over-egged, its endearing slightness sidelined by expansion, but nevertheless it’s a great number. The ghostly backing vocals on Blackbird and On My Way Home lend the impression of a group rather than an individual, stirring thoughts of soon-to-return Georgia dream-pop duo Azure Ray.
Everything sounds as if it’s written from experience, rather than by a team looking to tick the on-trend boxes of whatever commercial quarter they’re in. Which is perhaps why it succeeds where Leona, Burke et al have consistently failed: this is an album to embrace warmly, not a collection of tracks that the listener feels only a cold, media-manipulated connection with.
Slow, the single that introduced Rumer to the public, hangs itself around a core lyric of a familiarity that can’t quite be placed. And that’s a feeling that Seasons of My Soul arouses during its 11 tracks – a sense that these motifs have been heard before, but precisely where isn’t clear. It lacks originality, then, but Rumer’s debut is an immediately engaging, gently engrossing set. It wears its cracked heart on a neatly stitched sleeve of the most luxurious fabric, strong and elegant despite the hardships that sit of the centre of every song.
--Mike DiverFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
Musically, Seasons Of My Soul is influenced by Rumer's upbringing, which takes in a childhood spent in an enclosed, exotic expat colony in Pakistan. Here, her family would often sing and write songs together, determined to provide their own entertainment in the absence of TV or newspapers. Then, they relocated to the New Forest, where Rumer first saw a television, and married her love of the folk tradition with the sweeping melodies of the technicolor movie musicals. It is a blissful harmony, which you can hear in the likes of Slow and Come To Me High.
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Customer Reviews
The final track - 'Goodbye girl' was a surprise as it's a cover of an old David Gates/Bread song but done in a fresh way that totally compliments the rest of the album.
Buy it - you won't regret it!
With regards to the the songs as a whole there are numerous comparisons that can be made, Karen Carpenter, Judee Sill , Carole King, early Laura Nyro, even Joni Mitchell in a couple of songs, and a host of others. I agree with some of the previous reviewers that that some of the material and its delivery is reminiscent of Dusty Springfield. The production is certainly of a classic vintage and quite Bacharachesque in its lightness of touch but it's faultless. And as to the Carpenters comparisons, I can't think of an original Carpenters albums that is strong as this, there is none of the cheesiness that Richard Carpenter sometimes brought to bear. And these are (apart from the David Gates song) Rumer's own songs. The songs are all beautifully song, it's approachable but it's quite moving in places and there's a lot of naked emotion in this album. It might not cheer everybody up as it is underscored with melancholy but that only helps it to work as a cohesive album. Beneath the surface sheen there is considerable turmoil being worked through. So if you want a nice 100% happy album you're in the wrong place.
Oddly, the album opens with what is possibly the weakest track "Am I Forgiven" is my least favourite song on the album. It's pleasant enough but doesn't give any indication of the riches to follow. I suppose though it makes for a relatively gentle introduction. The sequence of songs from "Thankful" to "On My Way Home" is breathtaking though and is both harrowing and uplifting. And that sequence makes it hard for me to fathom the accusations of blandness that are littered about in some of the reviews. It's not often you get such subtle songs about grief, bereavement, abandonment, resilience and emotional rebirth. Not the usual territory for relatively mainstream music I would guess.
There is an artistic integrity and nuanced delivery in play here that isn't commonplace for such easily accessible work.
This is music for connoisseurs , not for large masses.
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