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The Phair one has returned after a four
year hiatus. She has taken the last train from Guyville, has
experienced the joys and responsibilities of marriage and motherhood,
and is back with an album that catches her returning to familiar
territory, while also reaching out in new directions.
In 1993, Liz burst on the rock scene with
the surprising, and surprisingly well-received, "Exile in
Guyville." It was praised by critics and fans for it's intelligent,
biting, and sometimes raunchy lyrics, and paved the way for the
successes of other female artists such as "The Breeders,"
"Alanis Morrisette" and "Luscious Jackson."
After 1994 saw her follow-up, "Whip-Smart," go gold,
she took some time off to concentrate on her marriage and to
begin raising a family.
Now, she's back with the interestingly
titled "Whitechocolatespaceegg," which begs the question:
Has domestic life mellowed her? The answer is "Not at all."
I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed on first listen,
because I felt that she had lost the intimate style of the first
two albums. However, what intimacy she lost, she replaced with
a fuller, more varied sound, as she has not only attempted a
variety of new styles, but has also added keyboards and other
sonic effects.
The album begins with the title track,
"White Chocolate Space Egg," which features Liz's familiar
vocal style augmented, by a lush, cosmic accompaniment. This
is followed by the humorous "Big Tall Man," written
from a guy's point of view. The Rolling Stone guitar riffs further
accent the masculine approach to the song. The song tells the
story of a guy, who, while mowing his lawn, shares certain truths
about himself such as: "I can be a complicated communicator."
Her intimacy returns on "Perfect World,"
as she puts aside a fuller sound and gives us a dose of just
her and her guitar. One of the things that makes Liz Phair such
a gifted songwriter is that she is always coming up with phrases
or bits of phrases that make the listener say "I wish I
had written that." In this song, there is the longing sentiment:
"I want to be cool, tall, vulnerable and luscious."
The next track, "Johnny Feelgood,"
is a rocking throwback to the "Guyville" days. At first
appearance it seems to be about a girl who enjoys an abusive
relationship, but Ms. Phair has said in interviews it's really
just about a girl who wants a guy brave enough to take charge
in a relationship.
This segues into "Polyester Bride,"
which is also the first single released from the album. "Polyester
Bride" is a mostly acoustic track that is written in the
conversational style that Phair is known for. One thing that
makes her stand out as a songwriter is that she is as much a
storyteller as she is a songwriter. This particular song is an
ongoing conversation between the protagonist and her favorite
bartender, where she wonders if she should bother dating "unfamous
men."
In some songs, she plays the role of active
participant; in others she plays the role of observer. She manages
to pull off both admirably with her trademark wry lyrics and
biting sense of humor. As mentioned earlier in this review, she
also experiments with a variety of styles. She goes bluesy on
one number, "Baby Got Going," and with the track "Headache"
she dips back to the 80's keyboard rock of Gary Nunan. For the
track "Fantasize," she enlists the help of Mike Mills
and Peter Buck, bassist and guitarist for R.E.M.
In one song, "Go On Ahead" (which,
more than any other song reminded me in sound of the "Guyville"
sessions), she does an in-depth analysis of a relationship: "And
it goes around in circles/ One night is lovely, the next is brutal/
And you and I are in way over our heads with this one."
On another, she's branched out into an entirely different direction
- the tongue-in-cheek "Shitloads of Money," which proclaims
"It's nice to be liked, but it's better by far to have money."
The album closes with the sweet, simple
acoustic number "Girls Room," in which she sings dreamily
about a night out with the girls. From beginning to end, this
album is filled with many pleasant surprises and few disappointments.
It's obvious that her songwriting has matured since the "Guyville"
and "Whip-Smart" days, and that changes in her life
have played a big part in the shaping of her musical ideas. However,
it's also obvious that she's lost neither her edge, or her gift
for writing emotion-provoking, accessible lyrics. This album
is wholly entertaining, and I can honestly say I'm glad she's
back.
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