— traitor joe (@phoebe_bridgers) April 10, 2020
Last week was a huge week for songwriter Phoeobe Bridgers & the girl never even changed out of her PJs.
Bridgers went on a make believe global virtual journey to promote her upcoming second album. The markets have been abuzz for a follow-up to Bridgers' debut Stranger in the Alps, released in 2017. It's a perfectly crafted album, with the lyrical acuity of these sadly strange times. And now, we need a second dose.
Phoebe's very good week started on Friday, April 3rd.
Bridgers showed up on a new song by The 1975, "Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America," off their upcoming full-length, Notes On A Conditional Form.
The following Thursday, April 9th Bridgers took to Instagram to announce her second album, Punisher, would arrive June 19th. In total, there are 11 new songs with titles like "DVD Menu," "Chinese Satellite," "ICU," and "Graceland Too." Then she posted the video for second single "Kyoto," where she surfs a bullet train track in a skeleton suit in the city of Japan. (The video for "Garden Song" came out in February.) That night Bridgers performed the new song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! streaming live from her bathtub (in PJs). She sang into a toy Magic Mic echo-phone and played a small beat synthesizer in her lap.
The next day, April 10th Phoebe performed a quickie 5-song livestream through Instagram and Pitchfork from her home in Los Angeles.
This time, out of the tub, and into a straight-backed chair, she played three new songs: "Garden Song," "Kyoto," and "I Know The End," along with "Summer's End," a John Prine cover (WE LOVE YOU), and "Motion Sickness," her now classic song. Even against the fiber-optic buzz, Bridgers' voice soared, her face scrunching up to the right.
The new songs are a small slice of the full offering that seems so far away. Punisher will be released by Dead Oceans on June 19th.
