Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright’s ninth studio LP and first new pop album since 2012, Unfollow the Rules finds the artist at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a new-found fearlessness while remaining as creative, bold, and mischievous as ever.

Produced by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Richard Thompson, Suzanne Vega, Randy Newman) at a variety of legendary Los Angeles studios - including Sound City Studios, United Recording, and EastWest Studios - the album serves as both bookend to Act I of an extraordinary career which, like Unfollow the Rules, began in the studios of Los Angeles, but also now as the first lines of a remarkable new chapter.

What I would like this album to symbolize is a coming together of all the aspects of my life which have made me a seasoned artist,“‘ says Wainwright. ‘‘My aim is to emulate the greats of yore whose second acts produced their finest work - Leonard Cohen when he made The Future, when Sinatra became Sinatra in his 40s, when Paul Simon put out Graceland. Pop music isn’t always about your waistline. Many songwriters improve with age. I’m flying the flag for staying alive!