I Know I'm Funny haha
Take the irony Steely Dan applied to Boomer narcissists in the ’70s and map it onto the introverts of Gen Z and you get some idea of where Atlanta singer-songwriter Faye Webster is coming from. Like Steely Dan, the sound is light—in Webster’s case, a gorgeous mix of indie rock, country, and soul—but the material is often sad. And even when she gets into it, she does so with the practiced detachment of someone who glazes over everything with a joke. Her boyfriend dumps her by saying he has more of the world to see, then starts dating a girl who looks just like her (“Sometimes”). She might just take the day off to cry in bed (“A Stranger”). And when all that thinking doesn’t make her feel better, she suggests having some sake and arguing about the stuff you always argue about (“I Know I’m Funny haha”). On the advice of the great Oscar the Grouch, Faye Webster doesn’t turn her frown upside down—she lets it be her umbrella.
There is so much depth to Faye Webster’s dazzling fourth album. It strikes a perfect balance between classic country stoicism and the sound of the saddest person you follow on social media.
Album four exudes a level of honesty that the singer-songwriter might previously have found alarming – and the sincerity suits her
Following the critical breakout success of 2019's Atlanta Millionaires Club, Faye Webster returns with I Know I'm Funny Haha, a pleasantly sighing collection of lovelorn ballads with almost enough heart to counterbalance the innate sense of irony that is her hallmark.
If the first song you heard from Faye Webster’s follow-up to the breakthrough of 2019’s Atlanta Millionaire’s Club was the crunchy synth-driven rocker, “Cheers,” you could easily draw the conclusion that she had gone off in a brave new direction. That’s true as far as “Cheers” is concerned, but primarily I Know I’m Funny haha mines a similar vein to its predecessor.
There's no doubt that Faye Webster is a great songwriter – but new album I Know I'm Funny Haha feels like a step backwards