Phoebe Bridgers

Week 26: Gracie Abrams- The Secret of us

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Gracie Abrams’ journey into music started when she was five when she picked up her father’s electronic drum pad. It would lead to touring with Taylor Swift almost 20 years later, where she would be the opening support act for Taylor on her “Eras” tour. As you already know, the other support act was Sabrina Carpenter. I could only imagine that Gracie must have been looking out at the packed stadiums, astounded by the experience, which she probably thought might never have happened once, let alone 30 times. She would write her first song three years after being drawn to her father’s electronic drum pad. That eventually led to the Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. This year, she also made her television debut by performing on the Tonight Show presented by Jimmy Fallon—a far cry from her debut live performance back in 5th grade at school.

Back in 2020, she hosted a modest concert over Zoom when the world was locked down due to the pandemic. The venue was her childhood bedroom, and the performance was viewed by only 100 people using the application. She described the experience as “weird” and expressed that she hadn’t expected to achieve what she did at that point. Gracie was inspired to play the guitar after listening to the late Elliott Smith. He was a young man with a troubled soul who died (Although no one knows if he was murdered.)before his time, yet he inspired many through his brief career as a songwriter.

During her teenage years, she explored other artists’ music, like Radiohead and The Beatles, and even covered their songs. However, when she came across Phoebe Bridgers on Soundcloud, everything changed for her. Her deep admiration for Phoebe greatly influenced her debut album.

Her latest album, “The Secret of Us,” establishes her as a country-pop icon who emotionally connects with younger listeners. The lead single “Risk” incorporates elements reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, the rebel and poet Patti Smith, and the emotive style of the late Elliott Smith. However, the catchy, pop-friendly chorus offsets the melancholic themes found in the works of these artists.

In her second album, the artist shifted to a brighter and more distinctive sound than her debut, “Good Riddance.” The opening track, ‘Felt Good About You,’ draws inspiration from the jangly guitars reminiscent of Vampire Weekend and Taylor Swift-like choruses throughout the album. In ‘Blowing Smoke,’ she incorporates country tones from Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette’s rock attitude. Additionally, there’s a reference to Kate Bush’s iconic song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God),’ where she mentions the title within the lyrics.

In her debut album, I previously mentioned that Phoebe Bridgers was a heavy influence. This is evident on tracks like ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’ and ‘Good Luck Charlie’, where her influence is obvious. Jack Antonoff, who interestingly also works with Taylor Swift, contributed his signature production style to the album. Aaron Dessner of The National, who also collaborates with Taylor Swift, co-produced the album, making it more pop-friendly compared to his usual work. This contrasts sharply with his work with his own band. You can hear influences from R.E.M in ‘Tough Love’ and ‘Normal Thing’. The latter sounds similar to Jamie XX. ‘Normal Thing’ stands out to me as favourite, partly because it sounds completely different from the rest of the album and is more uplifting with its dance beats.

Let’s face it: Phoebe Bridgers is a complicated person to emulate. Only a few artists break through after a debut album. Usually, it’s the second album onwards, where you iron out the mistakes made on the debut. Gracie has achieved this on her second album, and it is a far cry from sitting in her room learning to cover iconic songs from the artists and bands she listened to as a teenager. You can see she borrows elements from all of them to create her own identity. Her parents’ musical tastes can also be heard on the record, but her music is a blend of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers. Taylor Swift also appears on ‘us’, which reflects this. The experience of being on tour with Taylor has inspired her songwriting for this album, and she has more confidence in her delivery. The vocals are a lot stronger. This may not be her most iconic record, but it lays the foundations for the future.

Song recommendations: ’Normal Thing’, ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’, ‘Risk’

7/10

Week 14: Boygenius- the Record

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Boygenius are a rock supergroup formed in 2018 consisting of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, and Phoebe Bridgers. The former is the only one I have ever heard of, and I enjoy most of her material. Five years ago, the band also released their self-titled EP. They share common ground, and what makes Boygenius dynamic is their similar tastes in authors and poets. There is more than just a love of music, and unlike most supergroups, this has been formed on music and other passions to make the chemistry extra special. They also have their unique style of writing. Julien Baker is more melancholic, whereas Phoebe Bridgers, although she can sing softly, brings more energy, and Lucy Dacus brings consciousness to the fore.

Here is my track-by-track review of “the Record”:

Without You Without Them:

The opening track begins with the trio singing acapella. The trio exchanging cyphers. 

$20:

This has Julien Baker written all over it (Although I only know of Phoebe’s work, I did a little listening research.), where she gets political and her watermark guitar riffs, which, when you listen to her work, your ear picks up on the familiarity. Of course, as it is a trio, Lucy and Phoebe find a space on the track, with Bridgers doing a 90s-esque grunge rock scream, and Dacus leads the line during the fast tempo and fleshy verses.

Emily, I’m Sorry:

This song is split into two parts. The song title doesn’t fit the narrative that you should expect it to. Instead of being an audio apology letter to a specific individual, it discusses how uncertain life was during the pandemic ( depending on where you live.). You can hear Phoebe’s solo work coming through, but it also shows Boygenius working together to give it that unique sound. 

True Blue: 

This is quite obviously the turn of Lucy again. Why? Because her vocals are at the forefront, whereas Julien and Phoebe’s are more muted. This track is mellow and mid-tempo compared to what has happened so far. You can tell the band work democratically.

Cool About it:

We finally get to the acoustic song on the album with a cameo appearance from the banjo. The track could be described as folk-rock. Each member exchanges a cypher with different variations of bumping into the dreaded ex. The cyphers showcase just how talented each individual is at songwriting.

Not Strong Enough:

Just listening to this, you can tell that Sheryl Crow heavily influenced the trio. The track discusses the hotbed issue of the treatment of women (to this day, unfortunately.) within the industry. The instrumentation itself goes back to the sound more akin to ‘$20’ before developing into something more uplifting, which creates a rush of blood in your body. Synths feature on the bridge, and the strumming of the guitar with effects gives it that indie blend. I can imagine this one doing quite well on the tour. Although the lyrics are blunt, there is a sense of this becoming a tour anthem.

Revolution 0:

Another tender acoustic ballad to welcome in the second half of the album. The song has a frustrated delivery by Phoebe to match the writing. Phoebe ponders what love is and why it is called that if it isn’t love. 

Leonard Cohen:

Well, this is one of the favourite poets they all adore. The late Leonard Cohen was one of the best poets around. There is a nod to one of his tracks from 1992 called ‘the Anthem’. The track is, funnily enough, the shortest on the album, but in no terms does it mean they are insulting his memory. The band discuss the song’s meaning, which is about accepting your own imperfections. Lucy also has an Easter Egg in her verse, so listen out for that. Clue: It has already featured on the album.

Satanist:

This track features dirty and heavy riffs as Phoebe lets out a scream you will hear in many grunge songs. The track changes tempo again after the instrumental break after the bridge with Julien’s question about satanism as the song changes to downtempo and absent of guitars.

We’re in Love:

Phoebe has been taking over a bit with her songs, but Lucy steps up this time, showcasing her ability to write a specific feeling and deliver it on the instrumental. It also sees the band move away temporarily from the rock wall of sound (Depending on what your idea of “rock” is.).

Anti-Curse:

Julien’s turn, this time with a song which talks about romance. After the bridge is the best section of the song, as we hear full-on guitars with cascading drums.

Letter to an Old Poet:

By this point, I was starting to wonder if there was a democracy in the band as we heard yet another Phoebe trademark song. The track is about surrendering to what you used to be. It also has recycled lyrics from ‘Me & My Dog’, featured on the trio’s 2018 extended play. You can hear a crowd in the background. As the song gently fades, Phoebe closes with a message of hope.

You may think, by reading this, that the album is a fantastic listen. Unfortunately, I have masked that by measuring each track individually. Overall, I felt that for a band dubbed “rock”, there were many downtempo moments and many of the shoegaze side of indie. For me, the term “rock” has not been categorised all that well. There are sub-genres, in fact, many for rock, and this one falls under alternative/indie/shoegaze for me. This was more akin to an album by the XX than full-on rock. I was looking forward to hearing “the Record”, but I had to listen to it twice because my concentration wavered somewhat on the first listen. I felt it was all relatively tame for a “rock” album. There is more energy in a Phoebe Bridgers live performance than this.

Song recommendations: ‘Leonard Cohen’, ‘$20’, ‘Cool About it’

7/10

Week 46: Taylor Swift- Red (Taylor’s Version)

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Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that Taylor Swift was being held to ransom by Scooter Braun over her original masters for her past albums. To combat this, Taylor has decided to re-record the records, which are more enhanced versions of the original albums; over her years of experience as an artist, “Red (Taylor’s Version) is the second instalment of the re-worked records. Initially, the album was released in 2012.

Now, you would have thought that the interest from her fans or just generic listeners of hers wouldn’t bother listening to or buying an album they already have, but no, you would be wrong. I didn’t listen to the original record, but I did listen to a fair chunk of the songs through going shopping, listening to the radio, or watching television. The songs are far more enhanced now and better for it. Her vocals are more mature and softer. In the originals, Taylor sounds raw and angry. On these re-works so far, she has been far calmer. The production and the featured artists show that Taylor is savvier than she was as a youngster.

The immense excitement generated for this album’s release was the 10-minute version (That closes the record.) of ‘All too Well’. Her fans have known it, but the track was unreleased until this album came out. The song is about her brief relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, which led to a heartbreaking split in 2010. The record also opens with the original shorter version of the same song, albeit more enhanced.

Unlike the original, the extended version includes anecdotes about how the breakup ruined her 21st birthday, and she scathes at the age difference between them. Taylor asks Jake if the split also hurts as the track fades out with haunting layered vocals. The track didn’t make me cry, but that might not happen with you. It is quite a challenging listen, but as mentioned before, Taylor remains measured with her vocals rather than spitting venom.

Of course, an added incentive to buy these reworks is the “From the Vault” tracks. Of course, as mentioned in my review earlier in the year, these songs are album tracks from those sessions. These sessions would include ‘All too Well (Extended Version)’, ‘I Bet You Think About Me’, ‘Run’ featuring Ed Sheeran, ‘Nothing New’ with Phoebe Bridgers and many others.

I enjoyed the refined version of ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’. It sounded familiar, but yet an entirely different track from the original. The production is more sophisticated, so any distortion has been cancelled out. I remember hearing this soft Dubstep track with a tinge of distortion, or maybe that’s just me. There are even tracks such as ‘Stay Stay Stay’ and ‘the Last Time’ featuring Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody that tended to be overlooked and have been given a new lease of life on this version, with Taylor taking it back to her country roots.

I will have to concede that this version of “Red” is far superior to the original because Taylor’s vocals are more refined and measured, plus the production is crispier. Taylor’s confidence has grown over the years of being an artist, and this re-work certainly shows it.

Song recommendations: ‘the Last Time’, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’, ‘Everything Has Changed’

8/10