Faye Webster-Underdressed At The Symphony LP (Color) Vinyl With

By A Mystery Man Writer

Last updated 23 Sept 2024

Faye Webster-Underdressed At The Symphony LP (Color) Vinyl With

LP includes insert signed by Faye Webster. Faye Webster’s songs are direct lines to the humansubconscious, and Underdressed at the Symphony documentswhat happens once you begin to build a new self from theashes of your old routines. This rebirth isn’t flashy or definitive,but is instead a series of seemingly mundane moments that,scattered across weeks and months, sneak their way towardsomething like healing. Yes, there’s a breakup in play, butWebster is not documenting the heartbreak of a breakup somuch as she’s navigating the contours of heartbreak itself. Recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas with her longtimeband, Webster is accompanied on Underdressed at theSymphony by Matt Stoessel’s arcs of shimmering pedal steel,the plaintive, unhurried drums of Charles Garner, and,occasionally, additional guitarwork from Wilco’s Nels Cline,among many other crucial players. The title of the album refersto Webster’s post-breakup compulsion to visit the symphonyon a whim, usually buying a ticket at the last possible second.“Going to the symphony was almost like therapy for me. I wasquite literally underdressed at the symphony because I wouldjust decide at that moment that that's what I wanted to do,”she says. “That's what I felt like I needed to hear. I got to leavewhat I felt like was kind of a shitty time in my life and be inthis different world for a minute.” That strain of lightheartedness with a melancholic backbonepermeates the album, and is the major driving force behind“Lego Ring,” which features Atlanta multi-hyphenate Lil Yachty,the only guest voice on the entire album. Yachty’s ghostlywarble floats just under Webster’s voice, jabbing throughempty space, trembling over a low rumble of bass. The song isalso a sort of release—a buoyant moment that cuts through thesadness. “I think I hit a point in songwriting during this recordwhere I was just like, man, I said a lot.” Webster says. “I'm justgoing to sit down and sing about this ring that I really want.”Like the rest of the album, Webster isn’t providing answers, noris she on some epic journey of healing and self-care. Instead,she’s choosing to just live, to document heartbreak andridiculous moments right next to each other, until they start toblur together, becoming real enough for us all to feel.