About halfway through my listening experience of the new Phoebe Bridgers' album, Lost Weekend (which took place at my local planetarium) I found myself wondering "Is this it?"
I had seen all the five star reviews, people losing their minds on the internet, and the calls for "Album of the year," so my expectations were high. I've been listening to single "Lost Boys" here at Studio One, which I thought was nice — it wasn't groundbreaking, but it was classic Bridgers. It did a good job of hyping up my anticipation for the remaining tracks on Lost Weekend.
So, how do the other tracks come out?
In short: Fine; Not bad; Nice. By the end of Lost Weekend I was left with a feeling of familiarity and hoping for something with more growth. And after listening to the full album now a couple times, I'd say there are three strong tracks that really show Bridgers growing as a songwriter.
Will Phoebe fans love this? 100% Will it land on countless best-of-the-year lists? 100% Is it really that amazing? In my opinion, no.
In the year 2026, with a canon of music by Elliot Smith,Joni Mitchell,PJ Harvey and countless other well-established singer songwriters having been available for years, it feels to me that this album shouldn't be considered a "masterclass." But, I've always thought that Bridgers borrows a little too heavily from Smith, and I have to remember that not everyone knows his music. So for her to introduce that type of songwriting/vocal delivery/lyrical content to a whole new generation has to be respected. I'm sure there are countless people who will pick up a guitar and give songwriting a try because of Bridgers, and hey that's pretty cool.
Beyond that, I think the hype machine was in full working order for this record. The fact that Bridgers disappeared for so long, the tiny surprise shows, the almost-instant sold-out arena tour, the no phone policy — all of those are cogs in the hype machine, and it worked flawlessly.
But back to Lost Weekend and what I really enjoyed.
First up, "Bobby." This is a rock song, and Bridgers has proven that she knows how to rock — she just doesn't do it that often. She should though, she's really good at it! Plus, rock music could use her help. This song flows nicely, and the vocal delivery is solid. My only critique here is that the vocal melody sounded very similar to previous Bridgers work.
Next, listen to "Lost Weekend." Musically, this one's interesting. It starts slow, but a little over halfway it goes near Postal Service territory. It's a really cool track that left me wanting more when it was over. This is the case with a few tracks on this album — it's like once it starts heading into new territory for Bridgers she said "Ok, enough of that."
"Lost Weekend" left me hoping that Bridgers might produce an electronic album. This song proves she could pull it off.
Last, check out "As Above." This is another slow burn, but sort of like how "I Know The End" from Bridgers' sophomore album Punisher was a slow burn. She hits notes vocally that I've never heard from her, and her emotion is on full display in a more raw way than usual. This is the feeling that Bridgers rarely brings to the fold, but I love it when she does.
As a whole, with Lost Weekend Bridgers showed that she's not fully ready to jump into the deep end of change just quite yet. But she's tiptoeing and testing the waters. A lot of people don't like big changes, and maybe that's what Bridgers is concerned about. I guess we'll see what the future holds!
Fingers crossed for that electronic album
