Phoebe Bridgers performed a live version of “Kyoto” from her bathtub for Jimmy Kimmel Live. On April 9, she announced her new album, Punisher, set for release via Dead Oceans on June 19. In the clip, Jimmy Kimmel introduces Bridgers all while giving her new album a plug and then he introduces her, “Here from her bathroom in Echo Park, here’s Phoebe Bridgers live from the lavatory,” and the clip fades to Bridgers singing in her pajamas, while sitting inside her bathtub. She provides the background instrumentals and sweetly stares into the camera, while using a pink microphone, tactfully duct-taped for security.

Her new track, “Kyoto” will be featured on Punisher which follows her 2017 album, Stranger In The Alps. This Southern California artist is quickly climbing the ladder of success, after releasing her debut album, Stranger In The Alps, she joined forces with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker as boygenius. Together, they released a critically acclaimed EP, which reached #22 on mxdwn.com’s best albums of 2018.

For the new track, “Kyoto” , Bridgers intended to shoot the video while on tour in Japan this past March, however  due to the coronavirus pandemic, she shot the video in Los Angeles with a green screen. In the video, she poses against various clips of the illustrious backdrops of Japan, which includes the gorgeous shots one would witness if they were in Japan, like bamboo forests, Mount Fuji, temples and city skylines of Tokyo. She floats in the sky, while wearing a skeleton one-piece and mouths the lyrics, while giving fans a chance to see clips of Japan. At one point, she fights with Godzilla against a backdrop of flames.

In 2019, she made a powerful alliance in forming Better Oblivion Community Center with indie folk icon Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. Their album together, a self-titled 2019 LP also garnered praise from critics and fans. In November 2019, she released a new cover of the Tom Waits song “Georgia Lee,” a track featured on the cover album: Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits. The project is a tribute to the late folk legend, and includes artists such as Patty Griffin, Aimee Mann and Rosanne Cash. In December 2019, she shared a Christmas cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night,” featuring Fiona Apple and The National frontman Matt Berninger.