Album Review: Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher

Impactful songwriting

Not many took the music world by storm like Phoebe Bridgers. She is one of the many stars evolving in the indie-pop genre and is also a welcomed guest appearance on multiple records. Recently she was featured on various songs on the new The 1975 album. People can also hear her voice on the soundtrack to season 2 of Netflix’s hit show “13 Reasons Why.” Bridgers wins the hearts of her fans over and over with her soft and sensible voice and magical sounds. No album is like the other, and yet Phoebe Bridgers has her own unique style.

Bridgers released her newest album Punisher earlier than expected on June 18^th. On Twitter, she explains: “I’m not pushing the record until things go back to “normal” because I don’t think they should.” She attached a link to her album but, furthermore, links to donate money to multiple organizations, supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement.
With this and her newest album, Bridgers once again won the hearts of her already existing fans, and probably gained even more.

Punisher begins with the ominous instrumental track “DVD Menu.” This track is filled with violins that sound like they are the soundtrack to a horror movie, with witches. The instruments seamlessly flow over to “Garden Song,” another rather magical song with themes about the ongoing nightmares of Bridgers. During an interview with Zane Lowe on BeatsOne Bridgers reveals that the male voice on the track is her tour manager, Jeroen Vrijhoef.

With her next track “Kyoto,” Bridgers shifts towards a slightly more indie-rock sound incorporating fast, typical sarcastic/annoyed lyrics. The title track “Punisher” almost feels like a dream sequence with harps and Bridgers’ vocal talent. It contains one of the most relatable lines: “I swear I’m not angry, that’s just my face.” The next track, “Halloween” starts with a baritone guitar played by Bridgers’ friend and fellow artist, Christian Lee Hutson. The baritone gives the song a dark and ominous feeling, while the vocals perfectly match. During the outro, Hutson supports Bridgers vocally. It’s an amazingly gloomy song that reinforces fans how talented Bridgers is in songwriting.

“Chinese Satelite” expresses the feeling of longing for more maybe a having hope or believing in a higher power, “I want to believe/ Instead, I look in the Sky and feel nothing,” and just being disappointed because they lost the hope in a higher being. “Moon Song” is a slow song about wanting a relationship, but also about her feelings for “Tears of Heaven” by Eric Clapton. The track also contains another noteworthy, relatable line: “We fought about John Lennon/ until I cried/ and then went to bed upset.” The next song, “Savior Complex,” has dark beats provided again by Hutson, and they perfectly highlight the vocals and lyrics.

“I See You” was earlier called “ICU,” but Bridgers decided to change the title after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. The song is a little more rock than the others on Punisher, and is compelling in its melody. But right after that, the album gets a bit more country with “Graceland Too.” Bridgers proves that Indie is open to bending genres. On the last song on the album, “I Know the End,” Bridgers gets a little more political. The song masterfully describes the current state of the United States. The song starts off slow and soft, and right at the outro turns into a massive storm of instruments and voices; goosebumps are included.

Overall, Punisher shows and reaffirms how talented Bridgers is. The lyrics are deep hitting; the music is masterfully arranged. The album has a hold on the audience from the first to the very last note.