#new tracks

New tracks from “1989”, cover art:

-Wildest Dream

-I Know Places

-You Are Love (Deluxe Edition)

NEW TRACKS: Phoebe Bridgers — “Garden Song”

Phoebe Bridgers has recently released her first solo work in three years. But between now and 2017, she has not left the public consciousness. Due to her multiple collaborations, Bridgers has released new music every year, either as one-half of Better Oblivion Community Center with Conor Oberst or as one-third of boygenius alongside Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. Now she has gone back to her roots — literally and figuratively — with “Garden Song,” a hauntingly beautiful reflection on the past and present.

Warped sounds of a finger-picked guitar playing on a loop and a bit of static are the background noises to Bridgers’ breathy vocals. “Someday I’m gonna live / In your house up on the hill,” Bridgers sings while imagining the life she’ll have after her skinhead neighbor goes missing. Bridgers’ most recent solo album, Stranger in the Alps, showcased her songwriting prowess, and “Garden Song” is no different. Although simple, Bridgers’ lyrics about growing up and recurring dreams allow the listener to ruminate on her past and briefly step into her shoes. “I don’t know when you got taller / See our reflection in the water / Off a bridge at the Huntington / I hopped the fence when I was seventeen” — each line brings a new wave of nostalgia and, as usual, Bridgers does not waste her words.

The accompanying music video, which is directed by Bridgers’ brother, Jackson, finds Bridgers alone in her bedroom getting high. Although she doesn’t smoke weed often, she specifically wanted to for the music video while her brother surprised her with people and figures coming in and out of the room. Throughout the video, two fuzzy creatures bump against her as she sings, people dance, and Tig Notaro dressed as the Grim Reaper sits silently on the bed. Although Bridgers has not officially announced that a second album is on the way, if her lyrics in “Garden Song” ring true — “I’m not afraid of hard work / I get everything I want” — then there’s sure to be more music soon.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next time Phoebe Bridgers performs in DC!

— Carol Wright