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For Faye Webster, being “underdressed at the symphony” is a therapeutic experience. As she encountered various challenges — from a rough break-up to the stresses of her increasing fame — Webster found herself gravitating toward the concerts at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It was these spontaneous trips that inspired her fifth album, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” released on March 1.
A break-up album, a reflection on her growing fame, and an ode to the quirks of life, Webster’s fifth album muses on love and loss, confidence and self-perception, memories and nostalgia. Along with pedal steel guitarist Matt “Pistol” Stoessel, keyboardist Nick Rosen, bassist Bryan Howard, and drummer Charles Garner, “Underdressed at the Symphony” features Webster’s unique blend of subdued indie rock, modern country, and electronic R&B.
With 10 tracks, this short but sweet album brings fans Webster’s typical wispy vocals and simple, poignant lyrics that allow the instrumentation to shine. The casual, laidback tunes don’t demand too much from the listener, providing a cozy background track tinged with jazzy elements and orchestral touches — listeners may feel almost as if they are in the room with Webster and her band as they perform a relaxed jam session.
Although the album is implicitly about moving on from a break-up, Webster often dances around the idea of love rather than openly discussing her relationships. Songs like “Thinking About You,” “But Not Kiss,” and “Lifetime” touch on these wistful feelings of lost love, while featuring Webster’s signature soft vocals, oft-repeated refrains, and lo-fi sound effects. In particular, the opening track, “Thinking About You,” is bound to become a classic, taking on an upbeat, jazzy tone interspersed with tinkling bell chimes in a song that is both playful and yet somehow still colored with her signature melancholy.
Webster continues to wax poetic on lost love in “But Not Kiss,” where she sings about her longing in a piece that is also melancholic but nonetheless infused with bright chimes and strings.“I want to sleep in your arms, but not kiss / I long for your touch, but don’t miss,” she sings, the lyrics punctuated by brief bursts of chords interspersed with “Yeah, yeah.” One strength of the album is the unique orchestral details that reference the title of the album.
Despite these euphoric moments where Webster’s songs take on a grand, orchestral quality, most of the songs do not feature any allusions to the album’s title. While the laid-back, simple nature of their compositions makes for a soothing listening experience, the songs feel underwhelming at times. Perhaps more pieces could capture that classical feel, and, although admittedly the idea of being “underdressed” implies a more casual tone, some of her songs still feel slightly plain with their simplistic lyrics and repetitive rhythms.
Nonetheless, this laidback tone does allow for playful moments of levity throughout, in trite, lively numbers like “eBay Purchase History,” “Wanna Quit all the Time,” and a song entitled “Lego Ring” that features Webster’s childhood friend and rapper, Lil Yachty. Some songs evoke a playful sense of self-consciousness — in “Wanna Quit All the Time,” Webster coyly sings “I used to be self-conscious / Well, really, I still am” amid chill guitar beats and a steady drum rhythm.
“Lego Ring” is an eclectic, hilarious song that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Webster sings “I want a Lego ring / I wanna kiss it when I go to sleep” among moments of crashing drums and more languid moments of harmonization with Lil Yachty. In the heartwarming final verse, Lil Yachty sings: “Me and you the dream team / Always together like string beans,” referencing the artists’ friendship.
While another artist may have sounded banal singing these lyrics, Webster’s quirky humor somehow works for her. Silly lines like “I might open my doors / I got a exterminator / So it doesn’t matter if bugs come in” in “Feeling Good Today” are utterly delightful in their amusing irony.
There is also a clear attempt to infuse her songs with different moods, paces, and rhythms, even if the overall sound can occasionally seem similar to each other. For example, in “Feeling Good Today,” Webster overlays her voice with numerous sound effects, splintering her voice in a whimsical song that reflects on the little moments of joy in life. Unfortunately, Webster’s pure vocals feel a little lost among the extensive effects, though listeners may appreciate the experimentation nonetheless.
Webster approaches the concept of moving on from love from different angles, taking a more positive tone in the rock-infused song, “He Loves Me Yeah!” Crisp instrumentation and jazzy piano chords complement the song’s spunky lyrics. Amusing lines like “And we drink water straight out from the tap / He owes me money but I let it pass” may resonate with listeners familiar with the trials and tribulations of relationships.
The album’s titular and penultimate song, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” also features symphonic explosions of music like the earlier song “But Not Kiss” that may come as a delightful surprise to listeners used to Webster’s more subdued tone. She sings about the process of healing from a break-up through the experience of attending the symphony. At the climax of the song, she sings, “I’m underdressed at the symphony.” This verse is interrupted by a beautiful scale of strings that comes crashing down as Webster sings the next line: “Cryin’ to songs that you put me on.” These generous trills endow these songs with an orchestral quality, immersing listeners in the swell of a symphony just as Webster herself would be captivated by the concert experience.
The final song of the album is one of its best. In “Tttttime,” Webster conjures a world where she has copious time on her hands after the presumed end of a relationship. The song’s tentatively major key and optimistic lyrics end the album on a hopeful note: “Take a walk, call my mom … I got t-t-t-t-t-t-t-time.” This piece’s metronome-like beats as Webster stutters the word “time” and graceful string instrumentation also evoke a sweeping orchestral tone, leaving the listener with a warm feeling inside.
“Underdressed at the Symphony” is a delicate, heartfelt expression of Webster’s inner world that presents her unique combination of jazz, rustic, and indie styles. From Webster’s wistful remembrances of past loves to her light-hearted comments on life’s odds-and-ends, any listener will be bound to find something to relate to or simply let loose and find themselves similarly “underdressed at the symphony.”
—Staff writer Arielle C. Frommer can be reached at arielle.frommer@thecrimson.com.
