Liz Phair has detailed her highly anticipated next album Soberish. The LP arrives on June 4th via Chrysalis. Today (April 14th) Phair shared the newest single from the album entitled “Spanish Doors”. Listen to it below and scroll down to find Soberish’s tracklist and album art.
Spanish Doors is about “the breaking of a beautiful life when all you count on is suddenly up for grabs,” as Phair put it in a press release. She added:
I took inspiration from a friend who was divorced, but the actions in the lyrics are my own. I refer to hiding in the bathroom when everyone around you is having a good time but your life has just fallen apart. You look at yourself in the mirror and wonder who you are now. Shadows of doubt creep into your eyes. Just moments ago you were a whole, confident person and now you are wondering how you will ever get the magic back.
Soberish is Phair’s first album with new material in 11 years after Funstyle 2010. The new LP contains the previously shared tracks “Good Side” and “Hey Lou”. The record was produced by Phair’s longtime collaborator Brad Wood, who also worked on Exile In Guyville, Whip-Smart, and Whitechocolatespaceegg. “I found my inspiration for Soberish by delving into an early era in my music development. I spent my years in art school listening to art rock and new wave music non-stop on my Walkman,” said Phair. “The English beat, the specials, Madness, REMs Automatic for the People, Yazoo, the psychedelic furs, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson and the cars. The city came to life for me as a young person. The bands in my headphones give me the courage to explore. “
Phair added:
It can be sober to celebrate. It can be self-deception. It can be about chasing after that first flush of love, or indeed any state of mind that allows you to escape reality for a while and exist on a happier plane. It’s not self-destructive or out of control; It’s as simple as dreaming and waking up. That’s why I decided to symbolize Soberish with an intersection and a street sign. It is best described as a simple fulcrum of perspective. When you meet again after a period of sobriety there is a deep appreciation and emotional relief that floods you, reminding you that there is more to life, reality, and your own soul than you are aware of. But when you reach for too much good or starve yourself with too little, you lose that critical balance.
Sober:
01 Spanish doors
02 The game
03 Hey Lou
04 In there
05 Good site
06 Sheridan’s side
07 Ba Ba Ba
08 Sober
09 Soul suckers
10 Lonely Street
11 Dosage
12 Bad Kitty
13 rainy scene
