Underdressed at the Symphony
Album by Faye Webster
Released 1 March 2024
Singer-Songwriter
Produced by Drew Vandenburg & Webster
Rating – 5/10
Too underdressed, not enough symphony.
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Is Underdressed at the Symphony the undeveloped version of I Know I’m Funny Haha? Faye Webster’s sense of humour shone through her 2021 album, like a necessary light hurling through the darkness of adulthood, but her witticisms are absent from album number five, literally underdressing.
Luckily, Webster still has her honey-like voice to fall back on, smothering and sticking to each song like chocolate around her mouth on the artwork of Atlanta Millionaires Club. It’s her starring weapon, equipped as other weapons are removed from her arsenal, still unable to overcome mundanities, appearing with repetition at the forefront of opener Thinking About You. As lovely as her voice is, it can only convey so much when repeating those three words over and over.
Whether trying out a rare stylistic combination (lounge, Latin folk and country in the case of Wanna Quit All the Time), deranged vocal effects that make harmonies sound as fucked up as possible (Feeling Good Today), letting her drums bounce around in echo (Lifetime), or shooting for classic chord progressions (the title track), it often sounds as though there’s something missing.
I’ll happily congratulate the tunes that at least go all out on being different. As strange as it may be to hear a Faye Webster/ Lil Yachty collaboration (they’re lifelong friends), the vocoder-soaked noise rocker Lego Ring diversifies the album where diversification is needed. Few other songs are quite as advantageous – He Loves Me Yeah is another rock song but it’s a little less out-there.
As for the album’s serious register suiting it, stark seriousness rules all on But Not Kiss, featuring a recurring piano line that sounds like somebody slowly but strenuously moving through a block of ice, sharply, dramatically. I love how the piano line chops back into the track when you least expect, alongside the rest of the instrumentation. So, there is some merit in the album’s lust for drama – or stoicism – but Underdressed at the Symphony lacks the personability of previous Faye Webster albums.
Best track – But Not Kiss.
Rating – 5 out of 10
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