We were supposed to get Soberish, Liz Phair’s first album since 2010's Funstyle, last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic upended those plans. Phair gave us a peek of what’s to come back in 2019 with “Good Side” and she released second single “Hey Lou” (about Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson’s longstanding relationship) earlier this year. Now, we have a release date for Soberish.
Soberish finally arrives on June 4, and a press release describes it as “a portrait of Phair in the present tense, taking all of the facets of her melodic output over the years and synthesizing them into a beautiful, perfect whole.” Digital liner notes mention that Phair’s forthcoming record is influenced by music she listened to during her art school years, like 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.
With her release date announcement, Phair also shared “Spanish Doors,” a new single off Soberish. “[I] drew inspiration from a friend who was going through a divorce, but the actions in the lyrics are my own. I relate to hiding out in the bathroom when everyone around you is having a good time, but your life just fell apart,” she says in a statement. “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.”
Phair is also heading on tour this summer. She’s supporting Alanis Morissette on her rescheduled Jagged Little Pill anniversary tour dates. But before that, Phair will perform at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl on June 11. It’s a very ambitious date to return to live performances but hopefully we’ll have the “normal” summer we deserve.
Liz Phair tour dates:
6/11/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
7/31/21 Portland, OR @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
8/3/21 Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
8/5/21 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
8/6/21 Las Vegas, NV @ USANA Amphitheater
8/12/21 Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
8/13/21 Dallas, TX @ Dos Esquis Pavilion
8/14/21 Rogers, AR @ Walmart Amp
8/17/21 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater
8/18/21 West Palm Beach, FL @ ITHINK Financial Amphitheater
8/20/21 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheater
8/21/21 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
8/22/21 Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
8/25/21 Virginia Beach, CA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
8/26/21 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
8/28/21 Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
8/29.21 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Amphitheater
8/31/21 Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
9/1/21 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
9/3/21 Gilford, NJ @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
9/4/21 Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
9/5/21 Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts
9/8/21 Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
9/10/21 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
9/11/12 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino
9/12/21 Clarkson, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
9/15/21 Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
9/17/21 Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
9/18/21 St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre
10/18/21 Birmingham, England @ Utilita Arena
10/20/21 London, England @ The O2 Arena
10/22/21 Manchester, England @ AO Arena
10/25/21 Dubin, Ireland @ 3Arena
10/28/21 Hamburg, Germany @ Barclaycard Arena
10/29/21 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
10/31/21 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
11/3/21 Budapest, Hungary @ Papp Laszlo Budapest Sportarena
11/6/21 Warsaw, Poland @ Expo XXI
11/8/21 Milan, Italy @ Mediolanum Forum
11/10/21 Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Sant Jordi
11/11/21 Madrid, Spain @ WiZink Center
11/13/21 Paris, France @ Acoor Arena
16 Comments
Wuh oh
Automatic For the People came out a year before Exile in Guyville and is about a decade older than most of the other work she cites as inspiration…wondering if she meant Fables of the Reconstruction. In any case this has got to be better than her last few albums
for ‘decade older’ read ‘decade younger’ and this makes sense
Liz Phair is 53. That seems unpossible.
I’m expecting, whenever the pandemic is finally really over, to see Liz Phair sign on to a nineties-themed one-hit wonder cruise ship gig for the rest of her career.
There’s one hit wonders, and there’s musicians who put out one genius album and were never able to capture lighting in a bottle again. But yes, she and Lauryn Hill will be headlining that cruise.
She’s a one-hit wonder to people who listen to pop radio and have no idea that Exile in Guyville exists. By the standards of the Billboard top 40, Lou Reed & Jimi Hendrix were one-hit wonders too.Personally, I have liked some of her subsequent output. Whitechocolatespaceegg was mostly good.
Totally. She’s only been putting out new albums and touring, but she’ll totally end up on a cruise for washed up artists. Totally. I haven’t liked anything since White Chocolate Space Egg but even I know this is way off base.
LOL, Alanis still milking that cow. There’s a woman at work who is a giant fan and she’s actually super fucking salty that Jagged Little Pill is the only material she bothers to perform live.
??? Can you not tell women apart?
She’s supporting Alanis Morissette on her rescheduled Jagged Little Pill anniversary tour dates. Can you not read?
*shrug* I missed that part. Yeah, fuck her for playing what she knows people came to hear, I guess?
Spanish Doors in Andalusia… can I hear the echoes from the days of ’39?
LIz Phair playing in the woods behind the house where I grew up. Wow!
“Soberish”? Do we finally have an explanation for what was going on with “Funstyle”?
Here we go again with the “one great album everything else sucked” comments from the too-cool-for-school crowd. Her self-titled album was a brilliant collection of pop earworms. Sorry it didn’t speak to your angst. Get over it.