Rufus Wainwright

If his 2001 album ‘Poses’ charted a wide-eyed ascent into the drug-fuelled New York celebrity lifestyle and the brilliant follow-ups ‘Want One’ and ‘Want Two’ represented the comedown, ‘Release The Stars’ is Rufus Wainwright’s over-the-top moment. As well as having complete artistic control, Wainwright has had a major hand in the production, which means there’s been few there to temper his more indulgent ideas. Before, his sweeping strings and theatrical performance could be heartbreaking. Now, any intimacy is flushed away by pomp. The only thing approaching fun is found in ‘Tulsa’ – a mysterious and funny paean to Brandon Flowers. Someone needs to tell Wainwright there’s a huge difference between ‘epic’ and ‘over-egged’.

Priya Elan

5 out of 10