Featured Artist: Phoebe Bridgers
If you’re a fan of Phoebe Bridgers - or even better - if you are Phoebe Bridgers, thank you. With a undeniable charm and a voice that sounds like it’s been wrapped in silk, Bridgers is an incredible talent to keep your ears on.
Fair warning, Phoebe Bridgers might make you cry. It’s a good cry though - the kind you need every now & then. It’s - *dries tears from keyboard* - totally healthy.
All the same, there are more than a few lines that you can’t help but crack a smile to. Bridgers released her debut studio album, Stranger in the Alps, in September of 2017. The album stands out as more than softly sung sad songs, with lyrics on aspects of life that most can relate to - like the death of a friend taken too soon or a heart left unmended.
Stranger in the Alps was released last year through the independent record label Dead Oceans to huge critical success, showing up on more than a few “Best of ‘17” lists. Dead Oceans sets up shop in both Austin, TX and Bloomington, IN. The label’s roster includes an absolute smörgåsbord of artists as eclectic as they are talented including the likes of Mitski, The Tallest Man on Earth, and Khruangbin to name a few.
(credit: NPR Music)
Phoebe Bridgers has continued to win over the likes of many, with artists like Ryan Adams keen to offer their props and support. Adams connected with the vocalist in 2015 to release a 7” vinyl record titled Killer through his record label, PAX AM. The record features three tracks with Side A: Killer and Side B: Georgia ; Steamroller.
Others, like John Mayer, showed love for Bridgers’ sound on Twitter, stream of consciousness style.
Phoebe Bridgers. She’s phenomenal. Thanks @shannonwoodward https://t.co/t6KV59v3n1
— John Mayer (@JohnMayer) December 1, 2017
is this real life https://t.co/WfgvXqpbBv
— millennial falcon (@phoebe_bridgers) December 1, 2017
Coupled with a majestic voice, Bridgers’ songs are all about authenticity. Ditching abstract metaphors and tropes for a more natural-sounding vocabulary, her music tells stories you don’t have to sift through to understand or empathize with. In an interview with the L.A. Times, Bridgers talks about her approach to songwriting:
“They’re just, like, conversation-y songs, with no extra words that you wouldn’t say in life,” she says of her music. “Folk songs, basically. No frills, no bells and whistles — just exactly what’s happening.”
Highly recommend taking a stroll through her Bandcamp on a rainy day or foggy morning, or really anytime. We’d have to vote anytime as the best time to listen to Phoebe Bridgers, take John Mayer’s word for it.
Currently on her Farewell Tour, We The Beat is happy to help bring Phoebe Bridgers to Soho Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara, CA on July 20th. You can find tickets here or view her full list of tour dates here.
(Cover Image Credit: Phoebe Bridgers Facebook)