Faye Webster
Underdressed At The Symphony

2.2
poor

Review

by Dakota West Foss STAFF
March 5th, 2024 | 17 replies

Release Date: 03/01/2024 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Underwritten at the Recording Session

Faye Webster is never beating the “terminally chill” allegations. Underdressed at the Symphony is appropriately named, finding its gorgeous and lush instrumentation clawing at the ceiling, the wall, the floor -anywhere!- for a single idea to latch onto. Sadly, they rarely leave a mark with even the most biting songs like “He Loves Me Yeah!” being little more than a nibble, with its rareform energy being subsumed by the listless platitude “my baby loves me, yeah he loves me, yeah.” Perhaps we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves though. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Faye’s brand of gentleness; at its best, her songwriting can anchor itself in delicate swirls that are perfect for morning coffee and swaying in the summertime. That’s still the case here as the production and sound design are still sublime as ever, as slide guitars add twangy whispers to buttery smooth jams, but you get the sense that the band members are looking at each other with panicked hesitation to present any actual songwriting when the improvisation has its bluff called. “Lego Ring” serves then, as a much-needed shot in the arm with a left-field collaboration with Lil Yachty that works far better than it has any right to, only to immediately be kneecapped by the shockingly vacant “Feeling Good Today”. That one-two punch? is a good microcosm of the album, with the former using Yachty’s flamboyant delivery as a charming feature and the latter auto-tunes Faye’s otherwise gorgeous voice to some sort of ill-conceived MySpace-era hell. The title track stands as another highlight in a sea of nothing, again making the album’s name too appropriate, with an actual hook to hang your coat on and some genuinely arresting strings to match its cozy-but-eager jazzy instrumentation. It’s in that moment that I can once again see the vision of Faye Webster’s music soundtracking some closed-eyes swaying at a summer festival. Sadly, the rest of the album sounds designed to soundtrack concert-goers talking to each other about anything but what is happening on stage.

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Faye Webster Underdressed At The Symphony

Review

Faye Webster
Underdressed At The Symphony