After a couple of collaborative projects, Phoebe Bridgers recorded her second solo album for a June 2020 release. Maybe those side hustles gave her a creative boost, because that album — Punisher — is her finest work to date.
On Punisher, Bridgers expands her sonic palette without straying too far from the acoustic melancholy of her debut. These songs are a bit more muscular and experimental, and a bit more hooky, without losing any of the emotional resonance.
Phoebe Bridgers has a thing for supergroups. She followed up her Boygenius team-up by pairing with indie singer-songwriter Conor Oberst to form the band Better Oblivion Community Center.
Oberst, the one-man band behind Bright Eyes, also has a thing for supergroups. He released a great album in 2009 as Monsters of Folk, alongside Jim James of My Morning Jacket and singer-songwriter M. Ward.
In 2018, Phoebe Bridgers joined with fellow singer-songwriters Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus to form the supergroup Boygenius. Their first EP, self-titled, has a cover photo modeled after the debut of another supergroup, Crosby, Stills & Nash.
It’s funny to think of a “supergroup” comprised of three people 95% of music fans haven’t heard of, but if you’re into queer indie folk rock women, Boygenius is the Avengers.
As I promised just a few days ago, I’m doing a quick Phoebe Bridgers Deep Dive, to better appreciate the talented singer-songwriter in advance of her third solo studio album.
This week I’ll feature songs from her first two full-length albums, as well as an EP and LP she recorded with supergroup boygenius and an album she recorded with Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst under the name Better Oblivion Community Center.
The week of July 19, 1986, found a trio of songs atop the Billboard Hot 100 that I’ve already covered: Genesis’ ‘Invisible Touch,’ Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer,’ and Janet Jackson’s ‘Nasty.’
At #4 that week was Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone,’ the first of eight singles from the blockbuster soundtrack to the blockbuster movie Top Gun. Second single ‘Take My Breath Away,’ by Berlin, ended up making the bigger splash, reaching #1 and winning the Academy Award for Best Song. But this one was no slouch, peaking at #2 later that July.
Meet Me In Montauk 