by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Liz Phair alienated a large portion of her audience with her 2003 extreme pop makeover, where she didn't just go pop, she went teen pop, collaborating with the Matrix and winding up sounding something like Avril Lavigne's aunt. It wasn't exactly what fans raised on Exile in Guyville either wanted or expected and they were vocal in their displeasure, yet Phair made it very clear in her supporting press for the album that she didn't care that they were upset: she was no longer the woman who made Exile, and had no interest in trying to write or sound that way anymore, which was pretty evident from the album at hand. She wanted to cash in that indie cred and become a star, and Liz Phair did indeed bring her success, including her first Top 40 hit with "Why Can't I?," which tended to diminish the sniping of her critics, even if it didn't necessarily dismiss their criticisms. Most of the criticisms were focused on the Matrix-fueled pop singles, since they were flashy, ostentatious examples of how Phair wanted to play on a bigger field, but apart from those singles, Liz Phair concentrated on tasteful, well-polished, sturdy adult alternative pop that was not dissimilar to work by such peers as Michael Penn and Aimee Mann. That, not the desperate teen pop, is the touchstone for Somebody's Miracle, her sequel to the 2003 affair.... Read More...