Liz Phair Goes Indie Again: Signs To ATO, Reissues "Exile In Guyville" With Four New Tracks
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Liz Phair's music career has been a rollercoaster ride...and we ain't talking no "It's A Small World" picnic. 
After her initial indie twot rock success, Phair signed her soul over to Capitol Records. Under the major label umbrella the mother of one received major backlash. Fans called her a sell-out, while one New York Times critic went on to compare her 2003 self-titled release for Capitol to an Avril Lavigne album (ouch!), noting her collaboration with pop songwriters The Matrix (Lavigne, Britney Spears, Hilary Duff). Many thought she committed career suicide, but Phair shot back saying she need to support her middle-aged self somehow. The album didn't sell considerably more than its predecessors, despite being spoon fed to the mainstream.Today news hits that Phair is heading beck to her indie roots, inking a deal with ATO Records, home to Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Drive By-Trucker, Gomez, Mike Doughty and more. To sink the deal ATO will release a special 15th anniversary reissue of Exile In Guyville on June 24th.Phair is also working on a new studio album for ATO that will see release this fall. The reissue of her debut marks the first time Guyville will be available digitally. It also includes four new tracks from the original recording sessions: "Ant in Alaska," with Phair simply accompanying herself on guitar, "Wild Thing," wherein she uses the melody and central line of The Troggs' 1966 #1 hit as a jumping off point for an otherwise all-original song, "Say You," which features Phair and a full band, and an untitled instrumental with Liz on guitar. Also in the package? A 60-minute DVD dubbed Guyville Redux. ATO co-founder Dave Matthews makes a cameo in the footage, while Phair and Co. take fans back to the early 1990's Chicago indie music scene. Phair interviews Matador founders Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi, who originally released the record, producer Steve Albini, NPR's "This American Life"'s Ira Glass, John Henderson of the elusive indie label Feel Good All Over, Brad Wood (producer of Exile In Guyville), John Cusack (who founded the Chicago avant-garde theater group New Crime Productions), Urge Overkill, and more. Phair has always known how to throw a punch and how to take a few. Hopefully this one is in the right direction.
After her initial indie twot rock success, Phair signed her soul over to Capitol Records. Under the major label umbrella the mother of one received major backlash. Fans called her a sell-out, while one New York Times critic went on to compare her 2003 self-titled release for Capitol to an Avril Lavigne album (ouch!), noting her collaboration with pop songwriters The Matrix (Lavigne, Britney Spears, Hilary Duff). Many thought she committed career suicide, but Phair shot back saying she need to support her middle-aged self somehow. The album didn't sell considerably more than its predecessors, despite being spoon fed to the mainstream.Today news hits that Phair is heading beck to her indie roots, inking a deal with ATO Records, home to Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Drive By-Trucker, Gomez, Mike Doughty and more. To sink the deal ATO will release a special 15th anniversary reissue of Exile In Guyville on June 24th.Phair is also working on a new studio album for ATO that will see release this fall. The reissue of her debut marks the first time Guyville will be available digitally. It also includes four new tracks from the original recording sessions: "Ant in Alaska," with Phair simply accompanying herself on guitar, "Wild Thing," wherein she uses the melody and central line of The Troggs' 1966 #1 hit as a jumping off point for an otherwise all-original song, "Say You," which features Phair and a full band, and an untitled instrumental with Liz on guitar. Also in the package? A 60-minute DVD dubbed Guyville Redux. ATO co-founder Dave Matthews makes a cameo in the footage, while Phair and Co. take fans back to the early 1990's Chicago indie music scene. Phair interviews Matador founders Gerard Cosloy and Chris Lombardi, who originally released the record, producer Steve Albini, NPR's "This American Life"'s Ira Glass, John Henderson of the elusive indie label Feel Good All Over, Brad Wood (producer of Exile In Guyville), John Cusack (who founded the Chicago avant-garde theater group New Crime Productions), Urge Overkill, and more. Phair has always known how to throw a punch and how to take a few. Hopefully this one is in the right direction.
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