Rufus Wainwright – “Peaceful Afternoon”

Rufus Wainwright – “Peaceful Afternoon”

Next month, Rufus Wainwright, veteran singer and writer of songs, will come out with Unfollow The Rules, his first album of regular and non-conceptual pop-leaning songs since 2012’s Out Of The Game. We’ve already posted the early tracks “Trouble In Paradise” and “Damsel In Distress.” Today, Wainwright has shared a third, an out-and-out love song called “Peaceful Afternoon.”

Wainwright, always a great lyricist, uses “Peaceful Afternoon” to sing about long-term commitment. As he mentions at the beginning of the song, he’s been with his husband for 13 years. Over the course of the track, Wainwright sings about all the petty little annoyances that can tear couples apart and the magic that will hopefully keep them together. He brings it all to a pretty devastating conclusion on the chorus: “I pray that your face is the last that I see on a peaceful afternoon.” If you’ve been with someone for a long time, that’s the kind of line that can hit home pretty hard.

Musically, “Peaceful Afternoon” is a lush, warm piece of classic singer-songwriter popcraft. Wainwright recorded Unfollow The Rules in studios around Los Angeles with producers Mitchell Froom and David Boucher, and he’s filled out “Peaceful Afternoon” with strings and horns and sighing backup vocals. Check it out below.

Unfollow The Rules is out 4/24 via BMG.

more from New Music