Stream: Liz Phair, ‘Spanish Doors’

Kevin Bronson on April 14th, 2021

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Liz Phair’s new album, “Soberish,” will arrive June 4 — 28 years since her landmark “Exile in Guyville,” 11 since her most recent full-length, “Funstyle,” and two since the publication of her memoir, “Horror Stories.”

“Spanish Doors,” out today as the follow-up to the February single, “Hey Lou,” is inspired by break-ups and how they test one’s identity. “I drew inspiration from a friend who was going through a divorce, but the actions in the lyrics are my own,” the songwriter says. “I relate to hiding out in the bathroom when everyone around you is having a good time, but your life just fell apart. You look at yourself in the mirror and wonder who you are now, shadows of doubt creeping into your eyes. Just a few moments ago you were a whole, confident person and now you wonder how you’ll ever get the magic back.”

As for “Soberish” itself, produced by longtime collaborator Brad Wood, Phair takes a path back to her formative years, “delving into an early era of my music development, my art school years spent listening to Art Rock and New Wave music nonstop on my Walkman,” she says. “The English Beat, the Specials, Madness, R.E.M.’s ‘Automatic for the People,’ Yazoo, the Psychedelic Furs, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson and the Cars. The city came alive for me as a young person, the bands in my headphones lending me the courage to explore.”

In the album announcement, Phair also talked about the title: “‘Soberish’ can be about partying. It can be about self-delusion. It can be about chasing that first flush of love or, in fact, 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 the cycle of dreaming and waking up. That’s why I chose to symbolize ‘Soberish’ [on the album cover] with a crossroads, with a street sign. It’s best described as a simple pivot of perspective. When you meet your ‘ish’ self again after a period of sobriety, there’s a deep recognition and emotional relief that floods you, reminding you that there is more to life, more to reality and to your own soul than you are consciously aware of. But if you reach for too much of a good thing, or starve yourself with too little, you’ll lose that critical balance.”

||| Stream: “Spanish Doors”