Recorded at Idful Music, Chicago, Illinois and Compass Point Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas in February 1994.

All songs written by Liz Phair.

"Supernova" was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.

Expectations ran extremely high for Liz Phair's follow-up to Exile in Guyville, one of the most critically acclaimed debut albums of all time. If there are flaws in this generally first-rate follow-up, they mostly arise in comparison with Guyville, a record of such unexpected impact that most anything Phair could have done may have been found lacking. She continues to explore sex and relationships with exhilarating frankness and celebration, employing her much-touted profanity to a conversational rather than a sensational effect. The sound is somewhat more produced, though still pretty basic, and the compositions are by and large tuneful and lyrically intriguing. It's not, after all is said and done, quite as striking as Guyville; like many sophomore efforts, it mines similar territory without making huge strides forward. Several songs are reprised from her widely circulated Girlysound demo tapes, and in some instances the more heavily produced, self-consciously ingenious arrangements here suffer in comparison to their blueprints. The title track, one of the highlights of those tapes, comes off as particularly gimmicky in its new incarnation, with the addition of all manner of superfluous animal noises. There's no question that Phair is a major songwriter and artist, but this album is more a solidification of her talents than a breakthrough statement. ~ Richie Unterberger

Casual and detached, Liz Phair's sarcastic elegance merges her Ivy League intellectualism with a near-obnoxious blast of do-it-yourself power chords and I-told-ya-so's. Building off the success of her heavily hyped EXILE IN GUYVILLE debut, WHIP-SMART affirms Phair's reign over the hipper-than-thou corner of the pop industry. Using her cover-girl good looks to her advantage, Phair plays the part only to sucker the hecklers into her lair. Then she cuts them down to size, as if to say, "I'm above arguing with you."

Her music exudes jangly power-pop guitars and schoolgirl piano fiddlings. Within that, Phair is aware of her limitations and embraces them as individualistic expression, rather than a setback. Starting WHIP-SMART with a song called "Chopsticks" only shows the confidence with which she stares down her critics. Phair might be the next indie-chick hood ornament, but she's no one's girl. WHIP-SMART will show those who were still unaware that Ms. Phair will be the most name-dropped female rocker of the year.