Album of The Week: Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers

Since the release of Phoebe Bridgers’ sophomore album, ​Punisher, t​he spike in her fanbase has gained her more punishers than most of her contemporaries. Punisher,​released in June 2020, is the perfect complement to this especially spooky Halloween season. From “Kyoto,” a song about hating her father, to “ICU” about her former relationship with Marshall Vore (her current drummer), to a struggle of finding faith on “Chinese Satellite,” it’s safe to say that this record is unlike any that precedes it. Through savvy autobiographical poetry and dark humor, this record is a brilliant take on sadness, complex relationships, and healing from trauma. A spooky aesthetic is not unique to this Halloween season for Bridgers. In her debut “Kyoto” video, Phoebe dons a full skeleton garment, singing about personal resentment while dancing to the beat of her own drum. The spirit of Halloween is fully embraced in this first music video introducing a track from ​Punisher​— dressing in a spooky, fun costume while engaging her audience on intimate issues over an unassuming and majestic musical landscape. In “Kyoto,” Bridgers juxtaposes her happy, brassy, and anthemic melody and orchestration with hard-hitting lyrics that would blow past you without a deeper listen. Bridgers’ chorus reads, “I wanna kill you if you don’t beat me to it” while horns blare and a rock pattern guitar plays. This musical dichotomy creates tension that elevates the song to a much deeper intellectual and spiritual level. Phoebe says what we’re most afraid to say in lyrics that feel like a slap in the face, yet still offer a cathartic listening experience. Through narrative storytelling and haunting production by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska, this album is perfect for fans of Elliott Smith, Warren Zevon, and Aimee Mann. Eerie strings accompany pulsing synth pads and ethereal guitar sweeps that establish a sense of familiar isolation. We push certain thoughts and truths out of our head, but Phoebe finds a way musically to bring us back into a space that is uniquely our own. Phoebe is just like anyone else, who says what most are too afraid to admit to themselves. Through soft and fragile double tracked vocals, to her scream on the album’s closer, “I Know the End,” we get a diverse range of musicality in Phoebe’s songwriting. The track “Punisher”​—​ cowritten with Bright Eyes’​Conor Oberst and drummer Marshall Vore​—​ is about her love of Elliott Smith. She whispers, “​What if I told you I feel like I know you/But we never met?​” Phoebe keeps the spirit of Elliott Smith alive in this way. Pulling inspiration from “St. Ides Heaven” by Elliott Smith, she is no stranger to sad folk music. With the way Elliott Smith’s​Figure 8 w​as produced,​a​ny fan of Phoebe Bridgers is likely to be a fan of Elliott Smith. The most fitting track on the album for this Saturday, “Halloween”​—​ cowritten with Christian Lee Huston and Conor Oberst​—​ is dark to put it simply. Her track “Halloween,” the namesake being a day committed to disguising our identities and hiding behind the truth, is centered on finding truth and accepting things that you can’t change. A dead or dying relationship is a painful reality to confront, and desperately wanting more out of another person

or out of life. But sometimes, it is easier to sink in our pain and don a disguise. Bridgers closes the song repeating, “I’ll be whatever you want,” a double entendre referring to a Halloween costume, but more significantly to the desperation for a beneficial relationship to the point of molding herself to be whatever her partner wants and sacrificing her own livelihood in doing so. With an especially scary Halloween season— from COVID-19 to our political climate— Punisher​is a haunting yet truthful remark on growth. In times of division, we seek a place where we can hide, recalibrate, and consider where we are at. ​Punisher​allows us to do deep psychological work and find catharsis in a world of punishers.

Written by: Daphne Browdy