It’s not a surprise that Liz Phair is getting a lot of attention
\nthese days.
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i>, her latest album, has given fans a
\nlot to talk about and speculate on. For those who are not familiar
\nwith the alt-rock goddess, she made a huge splash in 1993 with her
\nclassic album,
\nExile In Guyville<\/i>.<\/p>\n
It topped critics charts. Her warble voice conveyed a sense of
\nvulnerability with car wreck like scenarios of relationships gone
\nbad spoke to both men and women. Even more revelaing was her
\ndelicious use of vulgarities. In that album, this vulnerable woman
\nwas also, “a real cunt in spring” who would “fuck you ’til your
\ndick is blue”.<\/p>\n
Then she came out with
\nWhip-Smart<\/i>. She still had a lot of her brashness in that
\nalbum, but after the commercial disappointment of that album, Phair
\ngot married. A baby followed. While recording
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i>, questions surrounded why the album
\ntook so long to record. She dabbled in the services of Scott Litt
\n(R.E.M.) and
\nGuyville<\/i> producer, Brad Wood. Record excecutives allegedly
\nsent the entire album back to her, either because the album overall
\nwas disappointing or the album lacked a key “hit single”.<\/p>\n
That all said,
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i> could be the career building or
\ncareer ending album for Liz Phair. One thing is for certain:this is
\nnot a fans-only album. In fact, if you’re new to Phair and dig the
\nconfessional singers that shined in the wake of Phair’s absence
\n(Alanis Morissette), start out with
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i>. Though it’s a more toned down
\nversion of Phair, it has more than enough material to keep you
\ninterested.<\/p>\n
Fans expecting
\nReturn To Guyville<\/i> will be alienated with this release. But
\nface it, getting married, having children, easing into a
\ndomesticated life presents a profound change to anyone. And true
\nfans of Phair will see the maverick sprit of
\nGuyville<\/i> in much of
\nWhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i>. In only 50 or so minutes, Phair
\nlaunches enough musical surprises to keep fans at bay for at least
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
The biggest surprise is the sound. Overproduction just doesn’t
\nfit Phair. Her imperfections make her such a trip to listen to. And
\nwith two producers, you could see how those imperfections could be
\nglossed over. Surprisingly, many of the songs remain gloriously
\nimperfect. Phair’s voice still sounds edgy, on the verge of
\ncracking in songs like, “Perfect World” and “Go On Ahead”.<\/p>\n
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i> seeps with variety as well. The title
\ntrack, “Polyester Bride” and “Big Tall Man” all beg to be put on
\nthe radio. But “Baby Got Going” has a nice Elvis-like rockibilly
\nshuffle. Other songs thankfully don’t fit into any mold, like the
\nquirky, “Uncle Alvarez” or “Shitloads of Money”. R.E.M. even gets
\nin on the act, playing guest musicians on “Fantasize”.<\/p>\n
The new and old topics that Liz Phair covers rarely converge on
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i>. In “Love Is Nothing”, Phair sings,
\n“Love is nothing like they say\/ you’ve gotta pick up all the pieces
\neveryday.” Domestication also hits hard on “Only Son”, Phair
\nlaments in her last stanza about packing up everything and taking
\noff before she loses her soul.<\/p>\n
Her sexy, self-loathing old self comes out in two songs, “Ride”
\nand “Johnny Feelgood”. The latter song is a nice, borderline
\nR-rated tale of lust. “When me knocks me down and he orders me
\naround \/ ‘Cause it loosens me up \/ and I can’t get enough”. Her
\nfixation with nursery rhymes contines with “Ride” when she turns a
\nnighttime prayer ritual into a vivid tale of guilt and purgatory.
\n“And if I die before I wake\/I hope the lord won’t hesitate \/ to
\npluck my coffin from the ground\/He need not heed the neighbors
\nnow.”<\/p>\n
With only three so-so numbers, “Shitloads of Money”, “Girls
\nRoom” and “Perfect World” out of 16, it almost makes the wait for
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i> worthwhile. People who will weigh
\nthis album against her classic album will no doubt be disappointed.
\nIn that regard, this album would rate a C or C+. But, if you were
\nto weigh all of Patti Smith’s albums against her album
\nHorses<\/i>, most of her albums would be given the same
\ngrade.<\/p>\n
Taken as an individual statement in today’s music,
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i> is a bracing release. Fans of Phair
\nor the genre (see any artist on the Lillith Fair tour) will have
\nthis CD locked in their players long into the fall. As for
\nGuyville<\/i> prudists, fear not,
\nwhitechocolatespaceegg<\/i> still has enough edge to scare away
\nlisteners. Her child will always be an influence on her. And
\nbarring a divorce, so will her marriage. As a person and an artist,
\nshe has evolved. Deal with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5694],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-39252","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-liz-phair","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39252"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39252"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}