Phoebe Bridgers steps it up a notch with new LP ‘Punisher’

Like all great sequels, Phoebe Bridgers’ new album ‘Punisher’ improves and expands on everything that came before.

Those who enjoyed her exquisite debut Stranger in the Alps will immediately feel at home with this phenomenal follow-up.

The downbeat alternative folk that Bridgers has made her name with is here to be enjoyed in all its glory, but with a few notable improvements. That is perhaps to be expected given Bridgers musical exploits over the last couple of years.

In 2018 she joined forces with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus to form haunting alt-rock outfit boygenius. Their self-titled EP set the internet ablaze with rapturous praise, and with good reason.

Last year provided yet another brilliant collaboration, this time with Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst in the form of Better Oblivion Community Centre.

This refreshing rock record showcased Bridgers in full bloom and confirmed her status as the unabashed queen of the modern American alternative scene.

Her second album has therefore exceptionally anticipated and to my delight manages to exceed those very high expectations.

It’s evident almost immediately when listening to Punisher that Bridgers has improved as a songwriter.

Her wistful melodies still wind their way into the depths of your brain but with even greater clarity and purpose than before.

The bewitching intricacy of album closer I Know The End will likely inhabit the minds of many lockdown weary listeners over the next year and many more after that.

The instrumentation this time around is more ambitious and succeeds in creating a luscious vision of late-night Los Angeles with everything from horns to strings and even a banjo.

Bridgers is often labelled (somewhat lazily) as a ‘sad’ introspective songwriter, but the point stands that her lyrics speak on a deeply personal level of the monotony of the human experience.

The blistering honesty of I See You is so searing that you start to wonder why no one else has ever thought to write lyrics like this before.

The sumptuous “If you’re a work of art, I’m standing too close, I can see the brush strokes” is then unexpectedly but totally brilliantly followed by “I hate your mom, I hate it when she opens her mouth.”

Bridgers covers everything from true love to taking MDMA with unwavering integrity.

The former on Moon Song “You couldn’t have stuck your tongue down the throat of somebody who loves you more” and the later on Graceland Too “So we spent what was left of our serotonin, to chew on our cheeks and stare at the moon.”

Overall, listening to ‘Punisher’ is a truly cathartic experience. After just 40 minutes Bridgers manages to vindicate the listener with her eerie and utterly beautiful alternative folk.

Everything from her finger-picking to her laughter is distinct and will stick with you long after the final track.