In a seemingly parallel universe from fellow Atlanta native Lil Nas X’s country-rap juggernaut “Old Town Road” topping the charts for the seventh straight week, 21-year-old Faye Webster drops her 3rd full-length album Atlanta Millionaires Club on Secretly Canadian. Webster, a consummate ATLien whose passions include the Braves, yo-yo-ing and photography, lives and breathes southern R&B and Americana.
She started writing music at fourteen, incorporating strains of folk, country, R&B and soul, and self-released her debut album Run & Tell a year later, her musical identity loosely straddling the rootsy heritage that she was born into. Her grandfather is a professional bluegrass guitar player and her longtime favorite band is western swing giants Asleep At The Wheel, who performed at her parent’s wedding. Then there’s the Atlanta hip-hop community that she has been immersed in since adolescence, from her high school days with rap collective PSA to her subsequent affiliation with Awful Records, which released her 2017 S/T sophomore full-length and with whom she remains persistent collaborators and close friends. (Awful Records’ founder Father is even featured on “Flowers,” which is an homage to both the man and the label.)
Atlanta Millionaires Club’s subject matter is strictly personal – no characters drawn from literary heroes or passing acquaintances. This lyrical honesty is intentional. Webster insists on honesty “because that’s what makes people pay attention,” proving it with lines like the “Room Temperature” couplet “I just don’t change that much ’cause who’s to impress? / There’s nobody around when I’m at my best” and the wistful “Right Side of My Neck” line “You looked back at me once but I looked back two times.”
“Room Temperature” kicks off the album by laying down a longing luau vibe with gorgeous pedal steel and tremoring bass, and introduces Webster’s deft lyrical skill, revealing the lonely shades of her daily grind with lines like “Looks like I’ve been crying again over the same thing” and in the next verse “I was sitting here last year, the same time ago / Still wearing the same thing.” The chorus, one repeated refrain of “I should get out more,” doubled by round flute-like tones, recalls “I’m just a girl”-era Gwen Stefani’s vocal pout, minus any hint of brashness.
“Kingston” finds a love-struck Webster cooing recollections of a romance she can’t stop thinking about over shimmering slides of the pedal steel and tasteful intrusions of brass, while the brief but vibey “Right Side of My Neck” meditates on the lingering scent of a new lover. The track revels in a restless bass line, pedal steel blazing across a velvety soft punchy 70’s drum sound, fleshed out with strings and Webster’s signature brass. The aching slow burn and climbing horns of “Hurts Me Too” dives into familial pain, signaling Angel Olsen on the vocals and recalling a slowed “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys.
From its opening tom roll, “Jonny” is a torch song full of brilliantly utilized imperfections: rickety understated horns and unconventionally inflected syllables, like when she punches the second half of “happy.” The melody rolls and crashes in waves, as during one of her best lines, “And get over how my dog is my best friend / And he doesn’t even know what my name is.” “Jonny” highlights Webster’s vulnerability and bravery, displaying her growing honesty on this release. She no longer feels compelled to protect people’s identities or feelings when writing songs, and so is comfortable revealing that “Jonny” is actually her ex’s name.
Aaliyah is Webster’s muse generally, but she also conjures Angel Olsen in her vocals, with hints of Courtney Barnett popping up in her penchant for observational details. Webster’s choruses often repeat one line or phrase over and over, building dynamics with swells of R&B harmonies and horns, and of course her ubiquitous pedal steel.
Webster’s clear and upfront vocals dwell on hit-and-run musings on crushes, flirtations, heartbreak and loneliness. She never meanders when storytelling, opting instead for a couple of spare verses with tight turns of phrase punctuated with humor and gravitas. Webster’s forte is silken expressions of lonesome introversion, and she does it with a radiating confidence that compels rapt attention.
Photo credit: Eat Humans
