By Chiara Piacentini
Staff Writer
Faye Webster’s album, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” was released on March 1. The 10-track record reads like a vague memoir about her personal life, using freestyle acoustics as a backbone.
However, the title alone does not do her talent justice. The indie rock star is a reluctant celebrity, so it’s understandable that she would put her album under a modest name. After all, her only internet presence is an Instagram account with posts about her music tours at best.
Webster’s album is loosely based on her past breakups, but she withholds most of the details. The most she is willing to disclose about it is a line in each song. All of her songs are generally repetitive in terms of lyrics as well. Considering that Webster goes so far as to remain secretive about her own dog’s name in interviews, this is typical Webster behavior.
“Lifetime” and “Thinking About You” are the most cryptic on the subject of her love life. “But Not Kiss” is as close as she allows us to get into the realm of her past relationships. The first line, “I want to sleep in your arms, but not kiss” sets the tone that Webster is uncertain about a past lover. Her stanzas of uncertainty are interspersed with a single chorus word, “Yeah.”
To maintain her modus operandi, Webster’s album cover is left up to interpretation. The cover shows her holding a blue dress on a hanger; whether she is putting the dress back on the rack or taking it off the hanger is where she leaves the eye of the beholder hanging.
In tandem with her obscure theme, Webster focuses on playing around with an au naturel style while continuing to incorporate the elements that made her known — indie rock mixed in with alternative country and R&B undertones.
Backtracking to her experimentation with natural play, Webster revealed in an interview with Paste Magazine that she limits her band’s song takes to a maximum of three.
“I don’t like the band plotting on what they’re gonna play,” Webster said. “When they play it, I’m like ‘Oh, they played that for a reason.’”
Webster also likes to rely more on instrumentals than her vocals, as she has a habit of putting her role as a singer on pause, letting her band or the occasional silence take over the song. This behavior is meant to convey her automatic response to heartbreak and popularity — hiding her pain in the depths of her music.
The results of her musical techniques create a calm ambience partnered with an attitude of playing each note as if it’s the last. This vibe is a refreshing taste for her listeners, given that Webster’s last, successful album, “I Know I’m Funny haha” came out three years ago.
If you need a break from life, just as Webster may want a break from fame, her 36-minute tracklist may just be your out. You can check out her new album on Spotify.
