Album review by Charlotte Poynton
The beginning of an Aussie Autumn was heralded by Faye Webster’s fifth studio album titled Underdressed at the Symphony. This album was recorded as live-room recordings at Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas, with several of these tracks recorded on this first or second take. Webster puts aside her legions of fans and packed-out crowds, as seen when she graced our 2024 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival stages, to provide us with ten slice-of-life tracks that hold our hands through heartbreak and splash cold water in our faces through moments of blurry thoughts. Read on for a track-by-track dive and my selection of favourite lyrics from each song.
Opening the album with a whopping 6-and-a-half-minute track, Webster’s ‘Thinking About You’ establishes the soft and dreamy landscape that Underdressed at the Symphony situates itself in. Introducing a strong centralisation on piano instrumentation and a folk image, Webster perfectly captures the mindless bliss of having someone play through your mind on loop. ‘Thinking About You’ is the ideal soundtrack to your coffee shop dates or your easy-listening study playlists.
Favourite lyrics: “And you said you were sure it’ll work out this time
I’m holding you to it”
The initial starting moments of track two, ‘But Not Kiss’, give us a simple yet quite effective guitar strumming pattern and Webster’s haunting vocals, before hitting us with a beat drop complete with piano and percussion. ‘But Not Kiss’ follows a simple lyrical idea of the tender yet innocent phase of an early relationship, but the magic lies within the musical arrangement and the texture of this song. Upon first listen of this song alone, I decided that this would be my favourite track from Underdressed at the Symphony, and my preliminary judgement stood correct as nothing could quite reach the pure level of allure that ‘But Not Kiss’ effortlessly exudes.
Favourite lyrics: “If you’re in a good place, I won’t mess with that”
Where the previous tracks conformed – for the most part – to a pop-oriented standard of modern charting music, track three of ‘Wanna Quit All the Time’ finds itself to be more of an alternative folk tune. Webster tells a story of how watching others deal with self-deprecating habits has influenced her mindset towards aiming for self-betterment and a yearning to quit all aforementioned poor habits. ‘Wanna Quit All the Time’ lures us into a false sense of track closure with a soothing instrumental outro which fades into a momentary silence, before treating audiences to another minute of pure musical bliss before the track dwindles out again, this time with more permanence, symbolising how our bad habits may be tough to kick but will diminish over time with mere persistence.
Favourite lyrics: “I’m just better at figuring out why”
A lead single by design, track four of ‘Lego Ring’ ft. Lil Yachty was the perfect choice to draw attention to Underdressed at the Symphony. Starting off strong with an ambient mood and lyrics that detail something as light and non-trivial as a crystal mood ring made of Lego. There is a perfect balance between Webster’s well-established style and influences from long-time friend Lil Yachty, with this collaboration allowing Lil Yachty to take the backseat and support Webster’s vocals.
Favourite lyrics: “It’s a mood ring, it’ll pick for me”
Track Five, titled ‘Feeling Good Today’ is the shortest, yet sweetest, track on Underdressed at the Symphony. Boasting autotuned vocals and reading lyrically as a hopeful diary entry of a very relaxed day, it sounds as if Webster has mastered the perfect feel good day within this track.
Favourite lyrics: “I got paid yesterday, I’ll probably buy something dumb because I am very childish”
Joining ‘Thinking About You’ as another laid back and relaxed longer track is track six, ‘Lifetime’. With a run time of five minutes and a reliance on the instrumental composition, the real shining star of Lifetime is by far the vocals. It doesn’t really matter what she is singing about, Webster’s nonchalantly smooth vocals are the perfect lullaby to aid in combatting any sleepless night.
Favourite lyrics: “With no conversation, I understand you verbatim”
Contrasting to the general calmly suave theme of Underdressed at the Symphony is the upbeat nature of track seven, ‘He Loves Me Yeah!’. Tapping into the juvenile charm of a love that will last forever, Webster sings about how much love her baby has for her, whilst describing rather mediocre acts through a lovestruck lens. To demonstrate the exaggeration of the lyrics in comparison to the actual reality, there are several brief cacophonic instrumental breakdowns that illuminate the potential chaos of the relationship outside of this ideal lens. I strongly believe that this song was deserving of a longer run-time, but the abrupt ending does make sense when considering the likely similar ending of the song’s depicted relationship.
Favourite lyrics: “I pick his face out when he’s in the crowd”
Based on the title alone, I was most excited to listen to track eight of Underdressed at the Symphony, and ‘eBay Purchase History’ did not disappoint. This song is such a standout track from this album, as well as being lyrically the most intriguing. From the way that Webster’s vocal melody is a direct mimic of the guitar melody, to the various unique percussion instruments sprinkled throughout, eBay Purchase History deserves all the love that an album track could possibly get. Disappointedly though, this song does not actually detail through Webster’s actual eBay purchase history.
Favourite lyrics: “Your eyes are so pretty, by the way”
The ninth and titular track, ‘Underdressed at the Symphony’, lived up to the expectations and the pressure of being a title track. Webster paints a beautiful story out of watercolour as she softly sings about aching and finding yourself in new and uncharted territory. There is a mid-song light shining on a symphony arrangement, a nod to the impulsively unplanned trips Webster found herself taking to performances from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Most beautifully of all though is the piano outro, elevating this song to a new plane of excellence.
Favourite lyrics: “Crying to the songs that you put me on”
Closing out Faye Webster’s Underdressed at the Symphony is track ten, titled ‘Tttttime’. Relying heavily on repetition, as seems to be a strong motif throughout this album, Webster cycles through things she views as time wasters whilst a twinkly piano repeats a three note melodic idea in response to each lyrical line. Perfectly encapsulated within these ten tracks, Underdressed at the Symphony provides audiences with a glimpse into Webster’s day to day life whilst simultaneously guiding them to emotions both rich and complex.
Favourite lyrics: “I get lost in a song”
