I’m not really sure where to start when it comes to “Going to a Town”. The rendition I’m listening to right now is a live recording from KEXP, though the quality and polish of the performance and recording would make you think it was from a studio album — which I think describes Rufus and his work: polished, refined, but passionate and throaty. It’s a relatively quiet, simple song, with Rufus Wainwright singing and playing the piano. His vocals are confident, with a really excellent range and variety in his tone. It feels melancholy, and lyrically relates a sense of disillusionment and frustration. All together, you’re left with a bittersweet mood by the end of it, like that aching cathartic feeling after crying in great heaving sobs, cheeks wet with tears. The feeling when you’ve begun to collect yourself, the catharsis having done its work.

[“Going to a Town” by Rufus Wainwright Free MP3]

[Official Website] (Worth going to if only to see an actually navigable band website.)