Funstyle - Liz Phair
Funstyle Image
Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

  • Summary: Liz Phair left Capitol Records in 2008. She released her latest batch of songs on the Internet in July 2010. The CD release includes the Girlysound Tapes, which are some of her earliest cassettes recordings.
  • Record Label: Rocket Science
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. Not everything here works, not by a long shot, but the overall impression is that Liz Phair has finally reconnected with the spirit of Girlysound--which, contrary to popular opinion, wasn't all serious--and is on her way to once again being a compelling artist unafraid to take risks.
  2. With Funstyle, she has crafted above all else an experience, and one that is entertaining and rewarding in ways that few records can be. It's an arduous listen, and as music it is unquestionably terrible; but as a musical experience, it's something that shouldn't be missed.
  3. Dec 22, 2010
    56
    Funstyle's what would happen if M.I.A. joined a musical sequence on Saved by the Bell.
  4. Possibly the saddest thing about Funstyle is that the seven straighter songs those experiments surround have just as little to recommend them.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Ever since Phair released what many critics agree is her best album, 1993â
  2. 9
    I like this record very much, and I'm glad Liz Phair has once again put out an album that she has complete control over. It's been awhile! Ms. Phair has always marched to her own drumbeat, even when critics called her a 'sellout'. She probably has no business being in the alligator pool of the music industry, because the critics and many listeners expect something of her that she has no interest in providing. Strange to say, maybe, but her best songs hang right up there with Dylan's, IMHO. And... all her records have examples of this quality. Expand
  3. 8
    The album is a mess. An uneven collection of solid Liz Phair music. Haphazardly thrown together, the album contains uproarious humor and satire, beautiful ballads, flat out rock, a little R and B with some funk thrown in, pop, and some sonic experiments. It's fresh, original, interesting, and a return to Phair's early, loose Girlysound days, hence the inclusion of 10 Girlysound tracks to, without doubt, draw comparisons too. Not a great album, but a damn good one! Collapse
  4. I like this album, but I dislike it at the same time. It is a definite mess. But, I have to say, It is very creative. It is a creative album, just not Liz at her best. Expand

See all 6 User Reviews