Rufus Wainwright is one of music's most established artists and can now boast 22 years in the business, from his 1998 debut album release.

The 46 year old also has a fascinating family history that will intrigue you. He can trace his routes back to Peter Stuyvesant, an early governor of New Amsterdam, which most people know as modern day New York! ‘Damsel In Distress’ is the latest track from his upcoming album, Unfollow the Rules. The whole album is a story about what life in someone's mid forties has to offer, the trials of parenthood, friends, love gained and lost plus the general emotional rollercoaster that it can bring. 

Wainwright has said that this song is in part dedicated to Joni Mitchell, who herself has had many health issues in recent years and can be drawn as a close parallel to a Damsel in distress. An icon to many artists, it was actually Wainwright’s husband Jörn that introduced him to her music. When you know that Joni Mitchell is the topic and you hear the form and structure of the song you can feel Joni Mitchell in it, the rhythm of the guitars and the speed and dexterity of the vocal line have some lovely nods to her work. There are some great vocal accompaniments with major to minor changes, which are very reminiscent of late 60s hits are all over the final production. The final mix is modern, but could have been made at any time in the last 50 year. It’s a skill not many producers and artists can achieve, but this track is pretty unique. The hand clapping rhythms, the place of the drum in the mix and use of flutes and strings is excellent to showcase how well written this track really is. Not only is it a beautiful song, with a lovely homage to one of music’s icons, it showcases his voice, with Rufus Wainwright showing his range and power which is to be admired and it echoes a maturity that not many artists can produce. 

This track is quite lovely, from creation to performance it flows effortlessly, it’s busy, with quirks dotted throughout that make me want to listen to it again and again. Damsel In Distress is going to make a lot of people very happy.

 Baroque pop 

Author: Phil Arnold

Phil Arnold is a musician, producer and music reviewer from Devon, in the South West of England. Whilst not writing music reviews, Phil also writes and records under the name of Ugbrooke.