Each month we are bringing you the 106.1 The Corner Album Of The Month, a record that we’re passionate about and think that you should be, too. This month we’re featuring Phoebe Bridgers’ sophomore effort, Punisher.
Punisher is a concoction of interstellar, dystopian sadness, while still instilling hope. You find yourself standing in the eye of a hurricane– peaceful in the moment surrounded by a beautiful impending doom.
Bridgers, 25, is a native to California and released her debut album Stranger In The Alps in 2017, which received high praises, including “wise -beyond- her- years songwriting.” A year later she formed the supergroup boygenius with friends Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, and then Better Oblivion Community Center with Conor Oberst in 2019. All three were among the star-studded team recruited to contribute to Punisher along with the return of Alps producers Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. Christian Lee Hutson—whose album Beginners Bridgers produced—rounds out the production team.
Punisher’s loneliness can be found in the fusion of strings and drums in “Chinese Satellite”, utter devotion and crushing heartbreak in “Moon Song”, and if it seems like you’re living happily ever after, the title track as well as “Savior Complex” shatter the mirage and remind you it’s probably too good to be true.
The last track of the album, “I Know The End” is a battle cry, an end of the world anthem with instruments and vocalists crashing together fighting to be heard, ending with screams and a raspy snarl. With the current condition and unrest in our country we see today, Bridgers wants you to use your voice and scream until your lungs give out. And she makes you want to.
Punisher is a battle between beauty and devastation, and some would argue they are one in the same. It is haunting and makes you feel uneasy, but art is supposed to do that, and Punisher does not hold back.
We spoke with Phoebe Bridgers on her album Punisher in the Long Distance Lounge. Click here to listen to that interview.
-Samantha Federico
