Rumer - This Girl’s in Love

The Guardian 80

(East West)

Rumer’s career has rather flatlined since her acclaimed 2010 debut, Seasons of My Soul, with subsequent covers album Boys Don’t Cry and original collection Into Colour proving underwhelming. On the face of it, the last thing the world needs is yet another take on Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s glittering catalogue, but she brings the heart and voice to make it soar. Her producer-arranger husband, Rob Shirakbari, who worked with Bacharach for years, provides the sumptuous orchestration these songs deserve.

Meanwhile, Rumer sings them delicate and dreamy, like a girl in love with love. She tackles previous Karen Carpenter comparisons head on and her (They Long to Be) Close to You stands tall with the Carpenters’ original. Her Walk on By isn’t a radical reinvention à la the Stranglers’ version. However, forays into the more forgotten songs, such as One Less Bell to Answer, a 1970 hit for the Fifth Dimension, give the project an identity, while these stellar performances should sing her back on to the map.