Biography of Liz Phair

For several years, singer/songwriter Liz Phair recorded homemade tapes under the name Girlysound; one of the cassettes reached Matador Records, which offered her a contract. Phair's first album, the double-length Exile in Guyville, was released in the early spring of 1993; by the end of the year, it was topping nearly every critic's poll in America. During the course of the year, Phair became the figurehead for the new movement of female artists, particularly those in alternative rock. Combining elements of both traditional singer/songwriters and alternative rockers, Phair stands as an original; although her roots are identifiable, nothing in her music sounds derivative.Whip-Smart, Phair's 1994 follow-up to Exile in Guyville, was a commercial success, debuting at number 27, but it received mixed reviews. "Supernova," the first single pulled from the album, was a Top Ten alternative radio hit. In the summer of 1995, Phair released Juvenilia, an EP that featured the first commercial release of selected Girlysound material. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine