4.0 out of 5.0 stars4.0
After the immense success on her fourth studio album, “I Know I’m Funny haha,” Faye Webster returned with “Underdressed at the Symphony” on March 1, continuing to defy genre norms. Despite the influx of fans and attention, Webster is consistent in her unique sound. Her music is timeless as she explores handling fame and heartbreak, with a rich use of new instruments and gentle melodies.

Webster resists being categorized as she expands across various genres in her music. She varies from indie folk, to alternative, modern R&B and even country. Her individual sound attracts attention from a wide demographic of listeners. Her versatility is apparent as ever in her fifth album, “Underdressed at the Symphony,” where she proves her capability in various genres. This album is impossible to confine to a single genre, by the mix of sound represented across 10 tracks. 

Webster finds comfort in the atmosphere of the symphony; it’s therapeutic to her. “I got to leave what I felt was kind of a shitty time in my life and be in this different world for a minute. I liked that I didn’t feel like I belonged,” Webster said in an interview with Rolling Stone. Webster portrays relatability to her audience in escaping from the complications of reality, particularly into an unfamiliar environment with no pressures. She is consistently making music that her fans can resonate with, and her messages are strongly conveyed through her work. 

The album opens with a lighthearted jazz beat in “Thinking About You.” It’s an appropriate track to start on, as Webster wrote and recorded the album recovering from a breakup. With simple lyrics and a repetitive line of “I’m thinking about you,” the song conveys the lingering bittersweet thoughts while dealing with being newly single. Even though this is essentially a breakup album, Webster does a fantastic job in representing an array of feelings rather than just conveying a sorrowful, heartbroken tone. Another intimate song on the record, “But Not Kiss,” shows immense emotion going from a softer to louder tempo, repeating a similar back and forth between the lyrics. One of the opening lines, “I long for your touch but don’t miss,” portrays the fluctuating feelings when trying to step back and accept that the relationship is over. 

Webster experiments with a vocoder over the album, slightly distorting her voice. On track five, “Feeling Good Today,” the use of vocoder on this track feels ironic, it makes her voice sound uncertain in what she is saying. While she is affirming her day-to-day plans, the distortion made by vocoder masks any confidence in her statements. The same distortion is also heard in “Lego Ring,” the lead single from the album, featuring famous rapper and Webster’s childhood friend Lil Yachty. The two’s relationship goes back to their childhood, having originally met in middle school in Atlanta. After the start of their individual rise to fame, they found each other again later in life bringing them to this fresh collaboration. As their creative styles presume to contradict each other, their voices complement one another. Yachty’s lively, let-loose vibe provides Webster a chance to escape the clutter of heartbroken thoughts, and open to her playful side. The catchy song plays with various instruments, a stable drum beat with piano and guitar chords. Not to mention, the two voices harmonizing chorus ties in perfectly with a variety of sounds from the instruments. 

Her humanity is evident on track 3, “Wanna Quit All the Time,” representing the overwhelming feelings that come with fame —  “It’s the attention that freaks me out.” After 10 years of being in the music industry, Webster is conscious of her limits, avoiding pushing herself into discomfort. She is even known at times to not show her face in interviews as she prioritizes her privacy, something that is commonly exposed while being in the spotlight. The last two minutes of the track finishes off with no lyrics, just the sounds of the soothing electric guitar. A calming tropical beat clears the mind, phasing out the anxieties in life. 

Faye Webster’s “Undressed at the Symphony,” not only exemplifies her variety of talents, but furthermore offers her listeners’ reliability in the agonizing complexities of life. Throughout the album, her use of different tones and instruments plays into her countless emotions, allowing the audience to indulge in the sound.