Hot debut from a Chicago gal who got her start making home recordings under the moniker "Girly Sound." The story goes that she sent tapes to two hip friends, one in NYC band Kicking Giant (Tae Won Yu), the other in Come (Chris Brokaw) and their dubbing decks spawned a sea of Girly fans. Step 3, bold Liz asks her friend Brad Wood (Shrimp Boat) what the hippest label in the country is. He says Matador, so Liz calls up Gerard Cosloy, who, being head of the hippest label in the country had already heard of Girly Sound. Matador makes a deal and Liz, inspired by Mick Jagger, turns out a double album. . . which brings us to Exile in Guyville, where tough, sex-positive and periodically twisted lyrics shed light on the female experience. "Fuck and Run" is the obvious hit, despite, or perhaps because of the racy title. Musically, the song's a perfect meeting of the two Phairs - between full-band, radio-friendly pop and minimal, folky (daresay Vega-esque) meanderings. A lesser talent could scarcely pull off the range of production values here - from the heavily layered "Never Said Nothing" to the tuned down "Girls! Girls! Girls!" - and still manage to please all the people all the time. (Carrie McLaren)