On Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers has distilled her craft down to a fine liquor.
At this point, Phoebe Bridgers is a superstar. Before this album even came out, she’d already sold out its global arena tour. She’s pretty much a household name. She doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone anymore, and this has set her free.
Her third album, Lost Weekend, oozes a quiet confidence. It’s restrained, and its emotion resonates louder because of it. Every moment is intentional, from the whirlwind soundscapes to the ringing hooks. Never does she make the obvious choice, and this gives the record a sense of artistic cohesion unlike anything she’s made before.
Bridgers has always danced on the line between stark brutality and poetic blurring – she carries us away with a playful scene or a quick joke only to deliver a gut-punch in the next breath. Now at 31, her perspective has only gotten more acute. This album sees her muse on change, grief, aging, love and loneliness, and it’s a gem from start to finish.
Phoebe Bridgers
- Lost Weekend out today
- Stream here
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The Outside
“Crying in a suit and tie / but you should see the other guy” – Phoebe Bridgers starts Lost Weekend with a dark joke, heavily vocoded against a backdrop of ambient crackle and hum.
Bridgers is a master of intimacy, and this opening feels both vulnerable and cinematic. The tension is soothed with delicate piano tinkles and plucked guitar that come through in the chorus.
The lyrics depict scenes of dissociation, one frightening and the other ecstatic.
Lost Boys
The vocoded stylings continue through to the start of single Lost Boys, creating a smooth transition into the jaunty, jangly hit.
This record features production assistants from industry heavyweights including Jack Antonoff and Alex G (who’s set to open on part of Bridgers’ upcoming arena tour), and the latter’s layered soundscaping and Americana leanings can be felt strongly here, as well as across the album.
Kill Me
Kill Me takes a step back into a softer, more sensitive space before ending in a sonic storm.
A heartwrenching offering, it ponders the world’s constant stage of change and our inability to hold on to anything too firmly.
The gaps of silence when Bridgers sings “wait” build incredible tension before the bass drops and the song divulges into a cacophony of chaos.
The Governor’s Waltz
The Governor’s Waltz is a love song for the doomed.
Minimal in its production, the power of this song comes from the gut-wrenching lyrics sung whisper-soft.
“Let’s see how long we can go without touching” charts the giddy start of the romance, before the cracks start to show: “You deserved better / you wanted me.”
But in the end, Bridgers seems to be saying some breakups are for the best.
Bobby
The album’s biggest and most euphoric track depicts a crush in full force.
Featuring vocals by Bridgers’ current boyfriend (and the song’s potential subject matter???) Bo Burnham, it’s perhaps the closest thing this album has to a mainstream banger, while still challenging listeners with its many layers and long synth outro.
But when Bridgers sings “This could be the end of wanting,” it feels like an anthem.
Lost Weekend
Lost Weekend is another track that transforms in its second half.
Starting off as a droney and vulnerable ode to intimacy and drifting apart, its gentleness is counteracted with a whirring, digitally-altered soundscape with skittering drums, vocal chops, risers and wailing viola.
Haunted
Drawing inspiration from vintage country, Haunted sees a different side of Bridgers’ dynamic voice.
Anchored by fiddle and acoustic guitar, she uses vocal flipping and rich harmonies to create an atmosphere reminiscent of The Chicks.
To add to the boot-scooting vibe, they even tossed an odd “woo!” in there.
Panorama
Panorama is somewhat of a palette cleanser, kicking off with a discordant instrumental before stripping back to piano and a mosquito-like buzz.
Lyrics come in in a style echoing the album’s opener, giving a snapshot of life on the road.
Still Standing
Violence – the violence of existing, and the violence that comes after – abounds on Still Standing, but Bridgers’ gentle tone soothes the pain.
Fragmented memories are shown through a detached perspective, as if she still feels the damage from the things she’s seen, but she now understands the nuance.
Liberty Tree
If Bobby is about the dizzying feeling of falling in love, Liberty Tree is more so about its early joys – taking pictures at the mall, feeling closer after a fight and simply being together.
“Don’t die, Bobby, before I die,” Bridgers sings, “It feels so good to have you in my life.”
Never Going Back!
Never Going Back! plays as a mantra, both a declaration to the outside world and a promise to one’s self.
“Never going back again / The way it used to be is not the way that it is,” Bridgers sings. This time, the album’s theme of change and moving forward is explored in a new way: with resolve and maybe a touch of jubilation.
Other Plans
Other Plans feels absolutely crushing. It’s starkly beautiful, one of the most stripped back and raw offerings on an album full of such songs.
The lyrics are an exercise in restraint, and it’s impressive how Bridgers crafts such a deeply touching portrait with so few words.
Lost Parade
This interlude feels like driving in a fast car past a parade, wondering about the things you’re missing out on while you do whatever it is you’re doing now.
I Can’t Wait
Propelled forward by a driving guitar chug, I Can’t Wait slowly builds until it reaches a peak, then drops down to a delicious harmonica solo by none other than Conor Obest.
Then a familiar voice – wait, is that Geese frontman Cameron Winter? Nope, according to the credits it’s someone known as “Son-John Johnson”. Hmm…
As Above
Bridgers’ voice traverses its full spectrum on this song. It’s at its clearest and most crystalline at first, then she’s near-screaming the words “You won’t have to believe in magic / Leave it to me, and I’ll make it happen.”
Lost Weekend (Reprise)
Bridger’s father, who she was known for having a difficult relationship, passed away in 2023.
While references to a father figure are scattered across this release, and the album’s credits say simply “FOR DAD”, this song is the clearest tribute to the complexities of grief and the enduring mystery of love after life.
It ends with a promise: “You love me and I won’t ever let you forget / Not yet.”
To check it out, head here.
