Faye Webster gives a mediocre glimpse into mid-20s life

Faye Webster, the Southern sweetheart of indie folk, broke a five-year hiatus Friday to drop “Underdressed at the Symphony,” her fifth studio album.

Webster, a singer-songwriter born and raised in Georgia, is beloved for her unique, jazzy style that isn’t quite folk or country, but rather straddles the line in between. Most revered for her fourth album, “Atlanta Millionaires Club,” Webster set expectations high in 2019 for her future work with fan favorites like the evergreen “Jonny” and “Kingston.” 

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“Underdressed at the Symphony” was inspired by her affinity for orchestral music. While Webster is known for keeping a low profile in spite of her undeniable fame — which has only been increasing thanks to traction from TikTok — she still enjoys last-minute excursions to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform mere minutes before a show begins, a curious habit that inspired the name of the album. 

Despite the great foundation that Webster has built for herself in the last seven years of writing and performing her own tunes, “Underdressed at the Symphony” unfortunately fell flat in terms of execution. Webster is one of few artists left who writes all of her own music, but perhaps she could benefit from some outside assistance going forward. With overly repetitive and uninspiring lyrics, listening to the album feels like attending a lecture where the professor drones on forever.

However, perhaps the charm behind the album is the fact that it is slightly disappointing. After all, Webster’s songs like “Thinking About You” and “Lifetime” echo the pangs of loss, which could potentially be tied to a former relationship although the meanings of the songs — likely on purpose — are quite ambiguous. If Webster was aiming to turn existential gloom into something palpable for her listeners, she certainly succeeded. 

There is an overarching element of Webster’s album that may feel familiar to many, though. Where many of the 10 songs on the album feature an absurd amount of verse repetition rather than actual choruses, Webster’s stylistic choice is reminiscent of the feeling when saying a word too many times makes the word begin to feel fake or even imaginary. 

In terms of relatability, something that may strike a chord with Webster’s younger audience is that songs on the album like “Wanna Quit All the Time” discuss her aversion to her own fame, where she openly considers quitting her career in music entirely. In a world where all future conditions are appearing more and more uncertain, many young adults are left wondering what is worth pursuing with the seemingly bleak future ahead.

Thus, while Webster’s songs off of “Underdressed at the Symphony” aren’t exactly “bops,” they do have the potential to provide comfort to listeners who use music as a means of coping with difficult life situations.

There are some lighthearted moments on the album, too, with a collaboration between Webster and rapper Lil Yachty on “Lego Ring”; the unlikely duo debuted “Lego Ring” as a single back in January along with Webster’s solo tracks, “Lifetime” and “But Not Kiss.” The talk box that Yachty uses as Webster’s backup singer gives a whimsical, electronic feel to the song, and his corny rhymes add a touch of humor as the song closes out. 

While the album is short, the length of songs varies drastically, with the first track standing at over six minutes long while other tracks such as “Feeling Good Today” come in under two minutes to give the audience a glimpse into Webster’s day-to-day life. 

In particular, “Feeling Good Today” reinforces Webster’s enigmatic nature outside of her singing career, where she confesses that her “dog goes outside / My neighbors know his name / Thought that was weird, but I’m over it.” While it is no secret that Webster is an extremely private person, this album contains eccentric reminders of her hermitlike lifestyle through its lyrics.

The album overall has a weak start, but it picks up the pace eventually with its atmospheric title track, placed at number nine out of 10. As a breakup song that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of emptiness amid catastrophe, it perfectly captures the album’s essence. It is by far the most original and evocative of the hits that put Webster on the map from her previous album. At the song’s conclusion, the addition of strings as well as the piano outro transform it into a multidimensional amuse-bouche — a quality which almost every other song on the album lacks. 

That being said, this album could have truly made up for its shortcomings and gone out with a bang if it had concluded with “Underdressed at the Symphony,” but “Tttttime” messes up the rhythm that Webster finally gets into with the aforementioned title track. The piano instrumentals and guitar twangs scattered throughout the final song are great, but the amount of times that Webster sings “t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-time” makes one wonder how much “t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-time” is left in the song.

While there are interesting details revealed about Webster and her life outside of music on “Underdressed at the Symphony,” expectations will certainly be lower for Webster’s future musical endeavors. Here’s hoping that she will circle back to the simpler, country-inspired folk music that fans know and love, and maybe if we’re lucky, she’ll finally tell us her dog’s name.