Phoebe Bridgers PUNISHER [SACD] Japan Music CD

August 28, 2026

Love exerts a profound influence on our lives, personalities, and priorities, yet Phoebe Bridgers doesn't write all that many love songs. *Punisher*—her fourth release overall and second solo album—engages with this theme. To say she writes songs about heartbreak would be to reduce her work to a mere marketing of "sad wisdom," while claiming she writes about pain would overlook the quirky joys found in her music. With the release of *Punisher*, she has established herself as one of the smartest, most tender, and prolific songwriters of our time. Bridgers is a rare artist who possesses the kind of humor that allows her to dismantle her own popularity in an instant. While outlets such as *The New Yorker*, *The New York Times*, *GQ*, *Pitchfork*, *The Fader*, and *The Los Angeles Times* have heaped praise upon her, she is more interested in engaging in Twitter debates—all while maintaining a deadpan expression—than in dwelling on the humbling process of simply being human. She offers a charmingly funny counterpoint to the devastatingly sad songs she writes; *Punisher* is an album fueled by—and filled with—these tensions that are often difficult to pin down. Bridgers’ unique gift lies in her intense curiosity regarding things that are uncomfortable and painful—a curiosity that drives her to dig deep until she either uncovers a beautiful or absurd answer, or faithfully reports the reality that no such answer exists. *Punisher* was written and recorded between the summer of 2018 and the autumn of 2019. The project saw her reuniting with *Stranger in the Alps* collaborators Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska, with Bridgers herself serving as a co-producer—a role she had previously held for the Boygenius EP and the Better Oblivion Community Center album. The album features contributions from longtime bandmates Marshall Vore (drums), Harrison Whitford (guitar), Emily Retsas (bass), and Nick White (keyboards), alongside an impressive lineup of guest artists including Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Christian Lee Hutson, Conor Oberst, Nathaniel Walcott (Bright Eyes), Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Jenny Lee Lindberg (Warpaint), Blake Mills, and Jim Keltner. Mike Mogis, who also worked on *Stranger in the Alps*, handled the mixing. [Phoebe Bridgers] Prior to her recent pop-up show, Bridgers last appeared on stage as part of boygenius—the supergroup she formed with close friends Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker—when they won Grammy Awards for their 2023 album, *the record*. That album won Best Alternative Music Album, while the track "Not Strong Enough" took home awards for both Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. Ultimately, Bridgers left the ceremony as the night's biggest winner; she also won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Ghost in the Machine," her collaboration with SZA on the album *SOS*. Before that, she served as an opening act on Taylor Swift's *The Eras Tour*. Prior to that, she spent nearly two years on her own *Reunion Tour*, selling out three legs across North America and successfully completing 30 shows in Europe, as well as finale performances in South America, Asia, and Australia. On screen—both online and on television—she delivered some of the most compelling and memorable performances of recent years, including appearances on NPR’s *Tiny Desk Concert* and *Saturday Night Live*. Since the release of her previous solo album, *Punisher*, she has also released numerous singles and covers, along with collaborations with artists such as Paul McCartney, MUNA, Bright Eyes, The 1975, Lorde, Taylor Swift, and The National.

[TRACKLIST]
01. DVD Menu / Garden Song
02. Kyoto
03. Punisher
04.Halloween
05. Chinese Satellite
06.Moon Song
07. Savior Complex
08.ICU
09. Graceland Too
10. I Know The End