Liz Phair

DISCOGRAPHY

Exile In Guyville (1993) 8/10

Whip-Smart (1994) 6.5/10

Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998) 6.5/10

Liz Phair (2003) 4/10

Somebody's Miracle (2005) 4/10

Funstyle (2010) 3.5/10

Soberish (2021) 5/10

   Exile In Guyville is a torrent of heartfelt tunes delivered in (mostly) three different styles: a modest production of folk-pop with sparse accompaniment (Glory, Dance of the Seven Veils, Soap Star Joe, Girls Girls Girls, Gunshy), fashionably-grunge folk-rock (6'1'', Help Me Mary, Never Said, Stratford-On-Guy, Fuck And Run, Mesmerizing, Strange Loop), and soundscapey psych-rock (Shatter, Canary, Flower, the chorus of Johnny Sunshine, Explain It To Me). 

   Her prickly guitar tone is similar to that of Joni Mitchell's in Hejira.

   Whip-Smart almost feels like a sequel to Exile. Chopsticks recaptures the surreal intimacy of tracks like Canary and Shatter, and Support System is in the same vein of Never Said. 

   But to put the album in the previous release's shadow would be a disservice. Whip-Smart works well as its own entity, but it's only as appealing as it is once listeners have experienced and loved Exile first. 

   Songs like Supernova or May Queen are fine, but it's nothing that would convert the harshest Phair-critic into a fan. They are songs that are only underwhelming because they aren't amazing -- and I suppose this is the penalty artists have to pay when they recycle the same sound from their masterpieces. 

   In short, Whip-Smart is a less impressive version of Exile, and that works to its advantage as well as its disadvantage. It will probably be disposable to non-fans of Liz Phair, but absolutely essential to those who are fans. 

   For Whitechocolatespaceegg Phair further adopted the sound of pop music with alarming spontaneity -- yet a lot of it serves to further demonstrate Phair's competence in psychedelic effects, hence the record's trippy name.

TOP 10 SONGS

• 1. Fuck and Run (1993)

  2. Explain It To Me (1993)

  3. Shatter (1993)

  4. Canary (1993)

  5. Flower (1993)

  6. Support System (1994)

  7. Dance of the Seven Veils (1993)

  8. Glory (1993)

  9. Soap Star Joe (1993)

  10. Never Said (1993)