Punisher
by Phoebe Bridgers

From Boltzmann TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/03/2021 11:46 | #275721 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Jesus CHRIST how boring. Opens with bland soft rock/baroque pop with emotionless performance, unless you count sleep as an emotion. But even my chillout music I require to be somewhat surprising or sonically challenging. Then it quickly slows down (can you imagine) into folky singer-songwriter crap. Let me clarify: "singer-songwriter" is not a genre in music, maybe poetry. The "songwriter" part is completely prioritized over the "singer" part. It's simply "artists" who do not care about music, who think "good music" equals "good lyrical content", and "good lyrical content" equals "sad topics", who fail to make any good music and wear it as a badge of honor by claiming they're singer-songwriters: they're more sophisticated, they're not like those pop singers who make music that conveys some emotion whatsoever in the actual music, and who don't sound like their music could be from the late '60s; they're real musicians: music is just optional background fluff to their sad - and therefore deep - lyrics, and emotion? They don't need to express that, that's barbaric, the emotion is in - you guessed it - the lyrics, because that's the only thing that's important in music. (Edited)

Ugh, her music got boring real quick. It's just a bunch of aimless, sad whispering now. All the predictable melodies blend together and get irritating. I enjoy a lot of solemn and quiet music, but not when the vocals are just hollow and the songwriting feels so uninspired like this. I don't know, maybe there's something here and I just don't get it. At least Kyoto rocks, and there are moments where things pick up a bit and it gets exciting.

I put off writing a review for this album for quite some time to ensure that every part of it lived up to my first impressions, wondering if maybe I was so enthralled by this project simply because this sort of sound is undeniably one of my favorites. However it’s been well over a year since its release now and I can safely say that I believe this album to be somewhat of a masterpiece. No part of my love for this album has diminished over time and in fact it has set up an intensely firm foundation to be one of my favorite albums for many years to come.

I honestly struggled to find things about this album I disliked or thought could be better. I read other reviews detailing what others viewed as shortcomings. Some people say she wears her influences a bit too boldly on her sleeve, however I tend to really enjoy when artists display their influences. It aids to give a sort of storyline of how their craft came to be. Music is not individual or separate from itself. Artists are most typically drawn to their craft because of their love for it outside of themself. Bridgers showing those influences- the obvious Elliott Smith influence throughout but particularly on the title track dedicated to him, the country-folk influences of Bruce Springsteen on songs such as Moon Song, the over the top intensity of Sufjan Stevens on I Know the End, etc.- helps solidify her as one more strong rooted character in the sort of cinematic universe of the music world.
Some people view this album as drab or boring which I can understand. This is definitely a subtle and even understated project but this only aids to the intensity of the lyrical content, emotion, and more outspoken parts presented here. By setting the tone as soft and subtle the moments that break out and allow more intensity become even more chill inducing. That being said the only things I think could improve this album would be to allow more of those moments. I did love the idea that by scaling back the overall vibe you could elevate the areas that allow for more intense moments however because those moments were so good I’m left wondering if Bridgers could do more there. If she can do this much with so little what is she capable of in excess? What would a Phoebe Bridgers album with more horns and strings and screams and energy and grandeur sound like. I believe she’s more than capable of it.

The lyricism here is expertly crafted. This is what really sets Punisher apart from her debut Stranger in the Alps. The double meanings and self reflection lead you on a thoughtful and expansive journey through through Bridgers emotions toward the formative figures of her life- her father, Elliott Smith, love interests, close friends, her brother, and even herself. The instrumentation is low-key but allows for moments of beauty with horns and strings that give the album a sort of dream like quality which judging from the opening single Garden Song I believe was very intentional. The vocals remain fairly soft and dreamy as well which perfectly sets up for the explosion of emotion that builds and bust out at the conclusion of the album.

This is a beautiful album that provides a deep dive into the mind and life of Phoebe Bridgers and with it sets her up to be to one of the pioneering member of the newly emerging and evolving generation of folk/ pop/ indie singer songwriters and gives her the reigns to lead the genre into the future. This project was great from the first listen but with each listen afterwards grew into a masterpiece and touchstone along the evolution of this musical sphere. 9.6/10

This albums' slow climb to the very top is representative of how it affects the listener. I first heard it and was like "yeah that was fine". Then months passed and I gave it no attention. Then I went back to it, and realized how much more than 'fine' it actually is! If it doesn't capture you on first listen, give it another chance. This album is the epitome of a slow burner, and really captures the melancholy of 2020.

From HoldenM TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/30/2020 00:11 | #254779 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Stranger in the Alps is a good album that lost a bit of luster as time went on. But here, Phoebe Bridgers builds upon her ability to sell unfettered melancholy with a believability that is hard to pull off. The added dimensionality in her sound, with a deepened mood and wider instrumental palette, Bridgers takes all the best parts of her debut, and amplifies them.