In lieu of touring at a point relatively early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, Rufus Wainwright livestreamed a physically distanced concert in late June of 2020 in anticipation of the July release of his album Unfollow the Rules. Featuring only Wainwright, a pianist, a guitarist, and a string quartet, Unfollow the Rules: The Paramour Session is an abbreviated version of the performance, which took place in the ballroom of the Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles. Of the album's ten tracks, seven were taken from the titular studio album. Sweetening the pot are two previously unreleased songs and a gripping, stripped-down version of the melancholy "Going to a Town" from 2007's Release the Stars, in which he airs frustrations with America. Essentially the whole album is engrossing, however, as Wainwright's charismatic performance style and larger-than-life vocal delivery are audible on a recording that takes advantage of the space's natural reverb and minimal accompaniment. Songs like the title track and "My Little You" are largely loyal to the studio versions, as piano pieces to begin with. While removing drums, the former re-creates the original's eerie, sliding string tones. Other tracks, like the intense, operatic "Devils and Angels (Hatred)," sound like more than the sum of their parts. Thoughtfully sequenced for live effect, he follows "Devils and Angeles (Hatred)" with the understated "Only the People That Love" ("may fly"), which mixes acoustic and atmospheric electric guitar accompaniment. Wainwright closes the set with the two song premieres, "Treat a Lady" and "Happy Easter." The former is a playful piano ballad of manners set in New York, and, set in quarantine, the lyrical "Happy Easter" will connect with listeners wondering how relationships make it to the other side. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

1		Trouble In Paradise
2		Damsel In Distress
3		Unfollow the Rules
4		You Ain't Big
5		Romantical Man
6		Peaceful Afternoon
7		Only the People That Love
8		This One's For the Ladies (THAT LUNGE!)
9		My Little You
10		Early Morning Madness
11		Devils and Angels (Hatred)
12		Alone Time