リズ・フェア、11年振りとなる待望の新作が完成。『エグザイル・イン・ガイヴィル』他、初期作品も手掛けたブラッド・ウッドのプロデュースによる7枚目のアルバム『ソーバリッシュ』、リリース。

Liz Phairは11年振りとなる待望のニュー・アルバム『Soberish』の詳細を発表した。『Exile In Guyville』『Whip-Smart』『whitechocolatespaceegg』といったPhairの作品も手掛けた長年のコラボレーター、Brad Woodのプロデュースによるアルバムは、2021年6月4日にChrysalis Recordsよりリリースされる。彼女の比類なきデビュー・アルバム『Exile In Guyville』(Rolling Stone誌、2020年度の500グレイテスト・アルバム・オブ・オール・タイムで56位にランクイン)がリリースされてからほぼ30年が経ったが、長年のファンを満足させ、若いオーディエンスに今の彼らのヒーローに影響を与えた自身を紹介する為、彼女は戻ってきた。1990年代、Liz Phairはインディ・ロックの規範の中心にいた。数えきれないほどの雑誌、初期のAppleのCM、Gapの広告等に取り上げられ、彼女のようなオルタナティヴな存在では考えられないような地位を確立したのだ。『Soberish』は今のPhairの肖像画だ。そこでは、彼女が持つメロディックなアウトプットの全てが美しく完璧な形で合成する。アレンジは伝統的なソングライティングの基準からはかけ離れているが、フックはとてもキャッチーで、リスナーが音楽と共に引きこまれるそのイメージには説得力がある。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2021/04/28）

Soberish is a suitable title for an album that hangs suspended between a variety of states of mind. Its not just the netherworld of navigating sobriety with a slight buzz: Soberish exists in a space between the mainstream and the fringe, a place where the boundaries separating the past and present blur. Fittingly, its a homecoming of sorts for Liz Phair, marking a reunion with Brad Wood, the collaborator who co-produced her early indie albums. Anybody expecting Soberish to be a return to Phairs nervy, lo-fi 90s will be sorely disappointed by its subdued vibe or how the album often flirts with the mellow melodicism of Somebodys Miracle, the album that closed out her run at the AAA charts back in 2005. This soft hangover is surprising yet logical. Phair only released one album, the deliberately off-the-cuff 2010 LP Funstyle, between Somebodys Miracle and 2021s Soberish, an extended period of quiet that encompassed a project designed as an answer to the Beatles White Album that was abandoned due to a falling out with producer Ryan Adams. This makes Soberish her first full album in 16 years, yet the striking thing about the record is that it doesnt feel high-stakes. Songs fade in and drift off, melodies come into focus then float away, there isnt a sense of urgency even to the rockers, of which there are a handful. This aesthetic isnt far removed from the magpie collage of Exile in Guyville or Whip-Smart, but Phair isnt attempting to re-create the spare, evocative guitar-rock of those indie records. The mixes are soft and lush, with vocal harmonies, keyboards, and effects plastered over the submerged guitars, a sound thats painterly yet pop. It suits Phairs songs, which are pointed and poignant, alternating sketches with stories. She finds time to slip in a bawdy joke -- Bad Kitty, which smashes the nail upon the head -- that may be broader than the rest of the album, yet it fits Soberish, as it rhymes with the erotically charged Ba Ba Ba and the knowing wit of Dosage. Bad Kitty is followed by the soundscape coda Rain Scene, a sequence that emphasizes how Soberish isnt exactly tidy. The appealing thing about Soberish is how it holds two thoughts (and sounds) simultaneously, a record that revives the spirit of Phairs earliest albums while casually leaning into her middle age. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rovi