After a lovely brunch, we’ve done grocery shopping and I’m now ready to firmly settle into that blissful feeling of knowing I am not going out again today.
Disc 1548 is…. Soberish
Artist: Liz Phair
Year of Release: 2021
What’s up with the Cover? Citizens of New York are on high alert tonight, as a 50’ tall woman stalks Lower Manhattan with an unknown purpose! She was last seen reclining on the Washington Square Arch and may or may not have been singing a pop song!
Will city officials send a delegation to hear her demands, or just urge citizens to lock their doors and hope she is only there to play some chess in the park before heading to the city’s outskirts?
How I Came To Know It: I am a Liz Phair fan from back in the day, so when she released her first album in over ten years I decided to give it a listen.
How It Stacks Up: I have six Liz Phair albums. Of those six, “Soberish” is in the bottom half, but I still liked it. I’ll rank it #4.
Ratings: 3 stars
For the last twenty years, Liz Phair has been exploring how to incorporate her nineties alt-rock sound into something a bit more pop-flavoured and contemporary. It hasn’t always been successful. 2003’s self-titled effort was good in places but was followed by albums I either didn’t like (“Somebody’s Miracle” 2005) or don’t even remember (“Funstyle” 2010). On “Soberish” Phair returns to form, rising above some unfortunate production decisions to deliver her best record in a long time.
The first thing that caught my attention on “Soberish” was the raw honesty in the songs. Phair’s truths are equally at home on songs that narrate the sad and weary ending of a long-term relationship, and the awkwardness of dating and finding love all over again.
“Good Side” is the former, a song that reminds us that wile breaking up is painful, we owe it to ourselves and others to leave with as much grace and forgiveness as we can muster. This song has a great pop hook, and amazing lyrics but it is pulled down by some very bad production choices. Weird synth sounds that would be more at home on a Sugar Ray record, and feel very dated, and just way too many instances of “let’s throw this in there!” happening either in the studio or post-production. Just strip it down and the song unfold. No bells and/or whistles required.
The same goes for the weird excess oughts-dance back beat on “In There” although in this case, the song is just too good to be denied. This song is such a great exploration of a woman acknowledging how some people can work their way into your heart. It also features the best metaphor on the record:
“Like smoke under the door, like cold comes through the floor
You got in there”
Is that electronic Frampton-voice box thing annoying on this song? Your damned right it is, but it is offset by some lovely piano bits.
“Hey Lou” is not confessional, but instead it’s an account of the relationship between Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, told from Anderson’s perspective. Lou comes off like a bit of an asshole, but an entertaining one at least.
Phair maintains her penchant for writing songs with a focus on minor chords. It has always given her records a forlorn quality, and this record is no exception. However, in recent years she’s taken to a much greater “pop” emphasis, and it hasn’t always worked with that style of tune. On “Soberish” she has finally found a good balance. It isn’t perfect, and the constant attempts to throw in gimmicky sounds, finger snaps and what-not does the work no favours, but most of the time Phair navigates the resulting choppy water and pilots the song successfully through to conclusion.
Vocally, she sounds as good as ever, combining her favoured slightly flat delivery with a high sweet head voice that was a pleasant surprise even after years of hearing it. “Lonely Street” is a particularly fine vocal performance, and further benefits from the stripped-down arrangement.
“Bad Kitty” is the album’s last song, and has that low guitar groove that long-time listeners will remember from early in her career. The song has some tongue-in-cheek references, but she also throws in honest struggles with drugs and depression making the song much more than a novelty foot-tapper.
Overall, you shouldn’t expect “Soberish” to match records like “whitechocolatespaceegg” or “Exile in Guyville” but those are both classic rock records that set a ridiculous standard. However, if you’ve been put off Liz Phair because of her previous two sub-par releases, this record will be a pleasant surprise once you get past some of the production foofaraw.
Best tracks: Hey Lou, In There, Soberish, Lonely Street, Dosage, Bad Kitty
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