NEW RELEASE: Soberish - Liz Phair

 Unpopular opinion: I love Liz Phair. No! Not just Why Can't I! If this is the only Liz Phair song you know, you have sold her short. She started as an indie Matador girl, with a gritty way of telling boys off musically. She has certainly broadened the horizons, but if you love indie bedroom pop then you are completely off base to not give Liz Phair the inventive respect she deserves. She helped forge the path for that genre for female artists. 

The second thing you must know about Liz Phair is to listen to her - you cannot take her too seriously. She doesn't take herself that seriously either, and regardless of what many think, Soberish is a return to form. She has not released anything since 2014's "Funstyle" that was...strange. I will just call it strange. Stranger than even expected from her which is a lot for Liz Phair to do in general, she has an album called whitechocolatespaceegg... I think I try to pretend her last release was actually still 2005's "Somebody's Miracle". And if you all enjoy her Matador days, in 2018 she re-released her "girly sounds" tapes. Certainly check that out if you love her olden days. 

But we are here for her new one, Soberish! Which...thank god...does not have Liz Phair inventing with rap music...Allow me to try and keep from remembering Funstyle again...

Soberish feels like a nice blend of her newer pop elements while keeping her lyricism and not so serious way of conveying it. The album begins with "Spanish Doors", which is actually quite poignant underneath the human way of discussing it. Sometimes we lose a sense of who we are. 

We then go to "The Game" which follows a vein of frustration with love, how the game seems to change on the regular. Just when you think you got it, you end up wrong. It feels a little like filler and could be forgotten in the mold of the album. 

"Hey Lou" sounds exactly like something that would've been on one of her early Matador albums and it also is worthy of a good laugh. The seething bluntness we're used to her just comes right out. It also has the dark turn of meaning with the realization the song is about being in a relationship with an addict.

We more to "In There", a short song about someone seeping back into your mind. It could also get lost a bit in the mix of songs as it isn't very lyrically present. Perhaps she meant for it to creep up on you like that feeling itself.

She redeems the album again with the next track "Good Side". Definitely sounds like another good mixture of the old and new. It has a maturity to it while keeping her same blunt nature. 

"Sheridan Road" has a strange intro that makes it feel like the song isn't playing. Don't panic if you think the song isn't really playing anymore. It just takes a minute to get going. I wish she didn't do such an intro though because the song itself is fantastic. 

By the way, Liz Phair isn't singing about sheep with "Ba Ba Ba", it is interesting she chose that title for the song though. I like the concept of the song actually. Love being beyond words so when she gets to the "I feel like" part she chooses another sound. And then the grief of the loss of the love. 

"Soberish" is a great song that totally represents the anxiety of love at times and trying again. It is easy to just put this song on and get a bit lost in it and forget you have played it about 3 times already...

"Soul Sucker" is a little different vibe for her but I actually like it a lot. I am not used to her doing songs with this kind of broody piano element but I think it ends up being one of the stronger songs on the album. It stands out with originality and breaks the albums constant guitar cohesion.

"Soul Sucker" is a great lead in to "Lonely Street". I love the way she sings it, like "come on already, come back please!" It captures the loss of love so well. 

We're now back to Liz Phair's blunt nature with "Dosage", recommending someone roll a joint and chill out. It is an ode to balance, in the humorous way.

And a song with the title "Bad Kitty" should prepare you. I have heard Liz Phair be bluntly explicit but this really takes it to another level. Somehow she managed to do this with more originality and humor than Cardi B ever could. Come get your better edition of women's sexual liberation. 

The album close with what I would consider a pointless 47 second outro of practical nothingness which added nothing to the album. Somehow it feel confusing to end on this or "Bad Kitty". But we're listening to Liz Phair, making sense went out the window.

LYRICISM: 7/10 - it is good Liz Phair lyrics but falls flat in some places. Some of it just sounds like unfinished filler that could've used some more time. 

MUSIC: 7/10 - If you enjoy Liz Phair you will be fine with it, but to many this would be so sonically similar you may get bored hearing the same kind of guitar melodies 12 times. I don't mind her so I naturally have heighted the score here but I assume for many this would be lower.

OVERALL: 7/10 - far less frightening than Funstyle. If you appreciate Liz Phair as an artist you will love this album. It feels a perfect combination between her pop shift from her self-titled and the bedroom indie sounds of her original Matador recordings. I recommend picking it up if you love indie alternative slow jams, or Liz Phair in general. If Funstyle scared you too, it is okay, you can come back now.