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Photo: Michael Tyrone Delaney

Indie A-lister, Faye Webster, has released her fifth album Underdressed at the Symphony, and it’s a simultaneously intimate yet casual stroll through uncharted territories of the artist’s sound. 

As a fully-fledged artist, Underdressed at the Symphony feels more like a work of self-expression than anything; there’s no pressure to prove weighing on these songs. You can hear it in the genre-fluidity and ease of Webster’s sound as she provides a tracklist full of moments that give into themselves completely. She lets the arrangements wander and grow as they please, with some songs being mere interludes and others exploring extensive solos and outros. 

The opening track, “Thinking About You,” embraces this nonchalance, offering listeners a nearly seven-minute-long spiral of reminiscence and desire. It’s a proper welcome into the world of Underdressed At the Symphony, bristling with country twinges and the colorful twist of R&B influences. The song fades into a sultry, content guitar groove, punctuated with piano chords and a rich bass that loosely plods along the melody. Electric guitars harmonize in the space around Webster’s vocals, playfully soloing around her voice. It’s an instant Webster classic to kick off the record as it quickly moves on to explore her newfound yet familiar sound. 

Take lead singles, “But Not Kiss” and “Lego Ring,” as an example. While they both live within her sultry instrumental palette, they lean into different ends of the breezy, blasé decadence of Webster’s discography. “But Not Kiss” is all emotional turbulence, capturing the push and pull of desire as the song ranges from restraint to desperation, release to rage. The arrangement follows suit, juxtaposing moments of isolated drums and bass with waves of pedal steel and piano. “Lego Ring” has a similar ebb and flow, but this time on a cheeky track dirtied with distortion. Webster guides listeners through a fun rhythmic switch-up, made even more playful with a feature by Lil Yachty. 

Another adventurous track is “Feeling Good Today,” an under-two-minute peek into Webster’s unfiltered thoughts. The lyrics could have easily been extracted straight from a journal entry—in both a lighthearted and earnest way—as she ponders her plans for the day, her childish tendencies, and whether it’s weird or not for her neighbors to know her dog’s name. Though the context might feel mundane, the lyrics are delivered through a glitchy vocoder, pulling the witty ease of the delivery forward. 

“He Loves Me Yeah!” also invites an electronic edge into the vocals, and Webster gets to play with an animated, rhythmic performance. The staccato vocals deliver the lyrics so that they’re almost making fun of themselves, as Webster lists cheesy but beautiful ways she knows she’s loved. 

Underdressed At the Symphony nears its end with the album’s title track, a starring moment for the artist’s signature pedal steel and a more vulnerable lyrical story. Webster sings, “I’m underdressed at the symphony / Cryin’ to songs that you put me on / Are you doin’ all the same things? / I doubt it.” There’s a loneliness revealed here that’s subtly woven throughout the previous tracklist but not obvious until now. Webster actually invokes the symphony on “Underdress At the Symphony,” too, with a witty orchestral flourish after the title is mentioned. The symphony persists through the album closer, “Tttttime,” with a woodwind duetting the cheekily rhythmic vocal line. This last track spins the project’s tone of alluring nonchalance into one of slightly resentful boredom, continuing off the aforementioned loneliness.

A multi-layered work, Underdressed At the Symphony is truly an exploration of Webster’s musical identity, allowing listeners to bask in the sonic and artistic perspective she’s cultivated. It’s both contemplative and cool, lighthearted and stirring, but above all else, it’s a sound that only she could create. 

Listen to Underdressed at the Symphony below: