Rumer - Boys Don't Cry

29 March 2012

Rumer has announced her return with a brand new album, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, which will be released on May 28 (Atlantic Records).

‘Boys Don’t Cry’ follows the breakthrough success of Rumer’s debut album, ‘Seasons Of My Soul’, which charted at number 3 upon its release in November 2010, and has since sold over a million copies. Along the way, Rumer has been nominated for two BRIT awards, been named the much-coveted Breakthrough Act at the Mojo Awards, and played shows everywhere from the Royal Albert Hall to The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (she recently reached #1 on iTunes in America).

All this followed a ten-year struggle for Rumer to be signed, and emotionally-eventful back-story, which can be felt across her music. Famous fans were soon forthcoming, but it was Elton John who perhaps summarised Rumer’s rise most succinctly: 'it’s great to have a singer like that in Britain. They don’t come along that often.' Still, Rumer wasn’t quite ready to rest up. She has spent the last year or so quietly completing work on a new album, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ - a stunning collection of lesser-known songs from the 1970’s, all of which were originally sung by men.

This cast of characters is nothing short of formidable, spanning the likes of Todd Rundgren, Townes Van Zandt, Ronnie Lane (and Ronnie Wood) and Tim Hardin. Even the more well-known artists - Leon Russell, Isaac Hayes, Bob Marley - have had their relatively forgotten tracks revisited, and re-imagined.

The result is a dark, diverse set of songs, many of which have personal echoes for Rumer, and describe - albeit via another author - her experiences over the last eighteen months. But by using this nascent intuition, and applying a mixture of detachment and interpretative nous, Rumer may be poised to cast a generation of lost songs into a new light. Describing ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, which she began recording whilst still unsigned, Rumer says: 'this project is about passion, and paying respect to other people's work. I went on a journey and this music tells that story.'

Further plans for ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ - including news of the first single - will be announced shortly. The track-listing, including the original recording artists, is as follows: Boys Don't Cry:

1. P.F. Sloan (Jimmy Webb)

2. Be Nice To Me (Todd Rundgren)

3. It Could Be The First Day (Richie Havens)

4. Travelin' Boy (Paul Williams)

5. A Man Needs A Maid (Neil Young)

6. Soulsville (Issaac Hayes)

7. The Same Old Tears On A New Background (Stephen Bishop)

8. Soul Rebel (Bob Marley)

9. Flyin' Shoes (Townes Van Zandt)

10. Home Thoughts From Abroad (Clifford T Ward)

11. We Will (Gilbert O Sullivan)

12. My Cricket (Leon Russell)