Why did that one feel like the introduction to the album in both instances? STEREOGUM: Punisher starts with an instrumental track, and then “Garden Song” is the proper opener and the lead single. Now that you can hear Punisher for yourself, read along below to get the stories behind the album. She walked us through each song on Punisher, from inspiration to songwriting decisions to the host of guests that accompanied her. ![]() We recently caught up with Bridgers, who was calling from home in LA during quarantine. A few years after Stranger In The Alps, Bridgers’ life has changed a whole lot, and a lot of Punisher grapples with how you go about embracing that when the same old demons still follow you. But Bridgers’ albums are very much rooted in her own personal experience. A sense of drift, being young today and seeking to make sense of when you’ll actually feel present in your own life. There are ways you can hear broad, generational conditions in her writing. Across Punisher, her words are biting, hilarious, open-hearted, therapeutic, turning from unflinching honesty one moment to a sardonic punchline the next. While there is a subtle intricacy to Punisher musically - sparse or meditative compositions lightly embellished by orchestration, rare outliers like the catchy “Kyoto” or the climactic “I Know The End” broadening the album’s scope - Bridgers is more of a lyrics-first artist. It follows some of the same structures and approaches as Stranger In The Alps, but refines and expands and deepens them. The good news is that Punisher delivers in all the ways one might hope. That makes Punisher a funny proposition: It simultaneously doesn’t feel like a sophomore album at all given Bridgers’ output and how well we’ve come to know her songwriting, but also like a sophomore album that arrives with even more pressure and attention than the usual highly-anticipated second outing. In just a handful of years, she’s released several albums, already building up a diverse and complex body of work. ![]() The following year, she formed a trio with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker called boygenius then, last year, she formed a band with one of her heroes, Conor Oberst, and called it Better Oblivion Community Center. But in the ensuing years, Bridgers’ stature as a respected musician and generational voice has risen significantly, and quickly. With that album alone, she was already greeted as one of the most exciting, assured young songwriters newly on the scene. I've highlighted a couple of songs that are my particular favorites, but truth be told, I put the record on and listen to all of them with this one.In 2017, Phoebe Bridgers released her debut Stranger In The Alps. One line in particular that the first time I heard it made me jump was: "Walking Scott Street, feeling like a stranger / With an open heart, open container / I've got a stack of mail and a tall can / It's a shower beer it's a payment plan"."Would You Rather" is fantastic because it's where we get our first glimpse of the singing/songwriting partnership of Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk fame) who would later unite to become Better Oblivion Community Center. It's perhaps never on better display on the album than on the song "Scott Street". It's a powerful song that discusses toxic relationships. As I've said one of my reasons for loving Bridgers as an artist is her immense songwriting ability. "Motion Sickness" was the big single from the album and if you haven't heard it, please correct this. Anytime a song can completely transport you, while also keeping your ear, that's magic. ![]() It's low-key rhythm that echoes through right around the hook so reminds me of David Lynch's music in Twin Peaks, but better. Stranger in the Alps (2017) - Stranger in the Alps opens with "Smoke Signals".
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