As far as expectations go, Rufus Wainwright's upcoming seventh studio album has crazy high ones to meet. Wainwright wants Out Of The Game's "danceability" to ease the nation's troubles, producer Mark Ronson is calling it his (Ronson's) best work yet (meaning better than Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and Adele's 19), and Elton John, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie have all been namechecked as influences. So it's saying something that the two early releases are living up to the hype.
The latest -- the title track, which you can stream below -- picks up where the careening "Montauk," left off, transitioning from an early summer sound into something kind of like yacht-rock. We're digging the continuation of the casually lovely instrumentation that prompted us to listen to "Montauk" over and over again.
Out Of The Game will also feature cameos by Sean Lennon, Wilco's Nels Cline and Wainwright's sister Martha. It drops in full May 1, presumably so as to take over your summer.
[via NME]
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article cited the album's release date as April 16. The album Out Of The Game releases May 1, and the single "Out Of The Game," will be available March 16 via iTunes and April 16 via Decca/Polydor.