A no-brainer choice for inclusion within our recent list of the Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2021, Liz Phair’s long awaited, much anticipated new album Soberish appears to be on the not-too-distant horizon. The follow-up to 2010’s Funstyle, her forthcoming seventh studio album will mark the first release overseen by her new label, the rebirthed Chrysalis Records.
During the intervening eleven-year period between albums, the iconic singer-songwriter-guitarist has offered her devotees plenty of reasons to celebrate her musical legacy, with the widespread 25th anniversary celebrations and corresponding tour for her landmark debut LP Exile in Guyville (1993) in 2018, the 25-year milestone for its underappreciated successor Whip-Smart (1994) the following year, and the arrival of the one-off single “Good Side” in the fall of 2019, coinciding with the release of her excellent memoir Horror Stories.
Nevertheless, the prospect of an imminent new full-length effort has reenergized Phair’s fans in recent months, and this collective sense of excitement will surely gain additional steam with today’s unveiling of lead single “Hey Lou.” An intriguingly conceived homage to Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, the song—produced by longtime collaborator Brad Wood—finds Phair summoning the more reckless and irreverent sides of the legendary Velvet Underground frontman’s persona in lines like, “What’s inside that heavy head? / Are you on the junk again? Your eyes look red / But your mouth keeps moving on and on… / We’re losing all of our friends / Pretty soon it’s going to be just you and me across the table” and “No one knows what to think / When you’re acting like an asshole / Spilling all the drinks / And talking shit about Warhol again.”
“Have you ever wondered what love looks like for your favorite celebrity couple behind closed doors?” Phair contemplates in an official statement. “‘Hey Lou’ imagines a day in the life of two music legends, whose union was an inspiration for rock bands and a source of curiosity for die hard romantics.”
Enjoy the Toben Seymour directed, puppetry enhanced video below and watch this space for additional details about Soberish as they emerge.
EXPERIENCE Liz Phair’s upcoming livestream event | Tickets
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