Glazed Over: The Manifestation of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Punisher”

"The entirety of Punisher indicates this feeling of being somewhere that she isn’t."

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A sophomore record that begins with a mirror-like quality from the opening track’s “DVD Menu,” Phoebe Bridgers’ follow-up to her critically-acclaimed debut Stranger in the Alps resonates Bridgers’ storytelling antics and lyrical fantasies. Punisher paints a picture of a red night sky filled with darkness and uncertainty.

“Garden Song” indicates a manifestation of one’s dreams and reality. Bridgers tackles thoughts of evil eccentricities and attempts to fight it off. Her lacy vocals parade over a steady guitar riff as she croons “I don’t how, but I’m taller/It must be something in the water”. The following track, “Kyoto,” reminisces of Bridgers’ first time in Japan. She despised parts of the tour. Then, she finds herself at home and begins to miss parts of the tour and wishes she were elsewhere.

The entirety of Punisher indicates this feeling of being somewhere that she isn’t. Bridgers uses her eclectic folk-brain to summon up idyllic Americana intertwined Indie-rock qualities to create an eleven-track album of a depressed state of mind and the hope that clarity will arise.

On “Moon Song,” Bridgers contemplates caring for someone who loathes themself. She howls “Stuck your tongue down the throat of somebody/Who loves you more/So I will wait for the next time you want me/Like a dog with a bird at your door”. Bridgers resents moments of the past and ponders on whether to be remorseful or not. Throughout the record, Bridgers considers the thoughts of the dead and living. By song’s end, she wanders into her own demise.

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“Halloween” presents a dead relationship in ruins where good endings don’t exist. Bridgers provides a synagogue of subdued thrills as she summons Conor Oberst, the other half of Better Oblivion Community Center, to instill a victorious ending. In the end, Bridgers feels at peace with the lack thereof.

The final track on the record, “I Know The End” resembles an endless trek as Bridgers ventures on her never-ending, purgatory drive up to Northern California. Screams complete this borderline metal tune that shifts gears during the thick of it. Singing “I’m always pushing you away from me/But you come back from gravity,” Bridgers surrenders her existential thoughts and gives into a tug-and-pull life that consists of a whispered scream as Bridgers fuels the looming end.

From the religious investigative tune of “Chinese Satellite” to the feels-like-love yet being-apart-sucks track “ICU,” Bridgers commands the scene again with a sophomore record of confusion, hardships, and intellectual mindedness.

Punisher indicates a glazed-over human being that’s living day-to-day with pure insanity. Bridgers presents herself in a raw form and isn’t afraid to capture the intensity of life itself. Better than ever, Punisher delivers the finest piece of music in years.