Faye Webster Is in No Rush on the Beautiful "Lifetime"

Exclaim! Staff Picks

BY Kaelen BellPublished Sep 20, 2023

Faye Webster's music tends to find a molasses-slow groove — sun-warmed and droopy eyed, the kind that you could sorta just vibe on for hours — and lock in, never in a rush to raise heart rates or eyebrows. The tactic has worked in her favour so far, and it's never been quite as mesmerizing as it is on "Lifetime." 

A great shimmering ship, "Lifetime" is propelled slowly by glacial piano, thwacking drums and curlicues of guitar. Tides of strings swell up and down against its hull as Webster spins a small handful of words — "Can't imagine me / Before you / In a lifetime / When I said I mean it / Didn't really mean it / In a lifetime / Every minute / You are in it / In a lifetime / With no conversation / I understand you verbatim / In a lifetime" is the entirety of the song's lyrics — into a grand statement on love and dependence. 

It feels like a calm goliath in mean waters, a big steady thing that can guide you to somewhere quieter. Webster's music is usually as funny as it is heartbreaking, but "Lifetime" finds her stripping that sly smile and leaning into a zen-like state of lift. She's never sounded quite so serious, but it feels earned — love can stop time, after all. 

(Secretly Canadian)

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