Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers (2020)

Writing about Peter Case a few days ago made me think about Bridgers; not because they’re particularly similar artists, but because of the very ground-level character-sketching songs and the no-nonsense part-folk, part-country, part-rock arrangements.

This morning’s original listen had been a pretty out-there metal record. I love metal, but I have to be in the right headspace to get into it, and I’m just not this week. All that, plus the fact that she’s apparently finally dropping her third record in August, made me want to re-listen to Punisher.

The forumula is simple: Bridgers takes a fine-grained look at a very small slice of life, finds all the emotion and pathos she can, and creates a gorgeously understated soundspace for it that is rich enough to explode at any moment, but always stays just below that level.

A lot of the tunes I like best (Chinese Satellite, for instance) keep the fairly busy guitar-bass-drums business submerged in a stream of shimmering distortion that keeps even the loud parts from sounding overwhelmingly loud.

The following track, Moon Song, takes a different approach, with her band playing it as quietly as possible to stay under the vocals without the need of much studio effects.

Then there are the straightforward rockers like Kyoto, where you get to ride the waves without pretext.

Like another favorite of mine, indie folk / electronic songstress Helen Ballentine who goes by the rather dissonant band name of Skullcrusher, the title of Punisher throws that same kind of dissonance at you. It’s not a punishing record, at least until you start delving into some of the lyrics of ennui, fatalism, and understated anger with things.

It’s quite an accomplishment, and I’m excited to see what Bridgers does next.