Liz Phair
by Liz Phair
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Jun 24, 2003
User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 83 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 83
  3. Negative: 25 out of 83

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  1. MatthewSweet
    Jul 1, 2003
    6
    I give it a 6.9 A courageous effort, extolling the virtues of using semen as hair product! Hang it up, Liz, you're out of ideas, and you're done...
  2. ShannonB
    Jun 30, 2003
    4
    As Jackie S. said, there is nothing wrong with pop music, but there is something wrong with bad pop music. Unfortunately, most of this is pretty bad. It's like Avril Lavigne without the hooks, killer production, and this may be hard to believe, the depth. Tries to hard to be "edgy" and "adult." I mean, a song like "HWC"? What's the point? Silly.
  3. EricW
    Sep 15, 2005
    4
    I remember seeing Liz when she toured with Cat Power years ago and they were both simply awesome. After hearing this album I was really disappointed, but I feel a lot of the very negative reviews are a bit unfair. Its a decent pop album but it just doesnt compare to her earlier albums, especially not with Exile in Guyville which is a classic. Maybe if she stayed with indie label Matador I remember seeing Liz when she toured with Cat Power years ago and they were both simply awesome. After hearing this album I was really disappointed, but I feel a lot of the very negative reviews are a bit unfair. Its a decent pop album but it just doesnt compare to her earlier albums, especially not with Exile in Guyville which is a classic. Maybe if she stayed with indie label Matador and not gone to a big corporate record label, she might still be up there with Cat Power as the best female singer-songwriters. Who knows?!… Expand
  4. LevisO
    Jun 5, 2005
    6
    Considering it was 5years in waiting, it is a disappointment but it's still a good album. My personal fave is Red Light Fever which I just love! It may be her weakest album to date, but it doesn't mean it's rubbish.
  5. JustinN
    Jul 5, 2009
    4
    Ok i'll admit...pop fans should like it. It has catchy songs. But Liz Phair used to have depth and she used to be interesting. Now she sounds like Avril Lavigne. She also doesn't have the chops to sing these kind of songs. Okay, i'm an indie kid but I have no problem with her becoming commercial. I just wish she would've brought her personality to the charts. Oh and Ok i'll admit...pop fans should like it. It has catchy songs. But Liz Phair used to have depth and she used to be interesting. Now she sounds like Avril Lavigne. She also doesn't have the chops to sing these kind of songs. Okay, i'm an indie kid but I have no problem with her becoming commercial. I just wish she would've brought her personality to the charts. Oh and not worked with the matrix.… Expand
  6. Stratford
    Aug 14, 2010
    6
    The sound is surprisingly good. Liz slides into this radio friendly sound well and it's catchy and fun. A roll down the windows pop knockout and it's all helped by *gasp* the producers sparkly, layered pop production skills but...the lyrics are awful. they are like a parody of her earlier work and induce cringes on occasion and after such a great trilogy of albums before it, it doesn'tThe sound is surprisingly good. Liz slides into this radio friendly sound well and it's catchy and fun. A roll down the windows pop knockout and it's all helped by *gasp* the producers sparkly, layered pop production skills but...the lyrics are awful. they are like a parody of her earlier work and induce cringes on occasion and after such a great trilogy of albums before it, it doesn't matter how catchy and shiny it is. it lacks what made Liz great which leaves this as simply a catchy pop album and a confusingly shallow one at that.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Most Discussed Album of 2003
25
#25 Most Shared Album of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
40

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 11 out of 21
  1. AllMusic
    60
    There's nothing wrong with a change of pace, but there's a startling lack of depth in either the words, which are entirely too literal, or the music, whose hooks are at once too obvious and not ingratiating enough.
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  2. Alternative Press
    40
    [A] slickly produced holding pattern. [Jul 2003, p.122]
  3. PopMatters
    10
    A highly overproduced, shallow, soulless, confused, pop-by-numbers disaster that betrays everything the woman stood for a decade ago, and most heinously, betrays all her original fans.
    Read full review
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