Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend Is a Lyrical Masterwork: Review

Phoebe Bridgers' latest album, Lost Weekend, is a lyrical masterwork. The theme of cycles is introduced in the first song, "The Outside," where Bridgers' voice is manipulated by a vocoder, signifying her dissociation. The song captures her feeling of being on the outside while watching her dead father, who died in a car accident.

This theme repeats throughout the album, with references to the wall her father hit and the imaginary figure, Bobby, who appears in multiple songs. Bobby, Bridgers' romantic partner and co-writer, is a character who provides moments of joy and happiness in the midst of her spiral of despair. The album features various collaborators, including producers Jack Antonoff, Ethan Gruska, and Tony Berg, as well as songwriters Christian Lee Hutson, Marshall Vore, Alex G, Damien Jurado, Maya Hawke, Lucy Dacus, and Bridgers' bandmate Julien Baker.

These collaborators contribute to the eclectic and eccentric sound of Lost Weekend, blending avant-garde flourishes, sticky pop melodies, and quiet emotional climaxes. The result is an album that sounds distinctly like Bridgers, with memorable songs like "Lost Boys," "Haunted," and the joyous "Bobby" songs. While some may argue that the toplines could be better, the ambition of the lyrics remains the standout feature of Lost Weekend.