(SOUNDBITE OF PHOEBE BRIDGERS SONG, "LOST BOYS")
EYDER PERALTA, HOST:
Want to get lost in some new music this weekend. Phoebe Bridgers has you covered with her highly anticipated third release, aptly named "Lost Weekend."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOST BOYS")
PHOEBE BRIDGERS: (Singing) Lost boys never grow up, never go home. Lost boys.
PERALTA: Joining us now to talk about what this album's all about is NPR Music's Ann Powers. Ann, thanks for being with us.
PERALTA: You can hear a bit of the magic in this song, "Lost Boys." But for those who don't know, what is it that makes Phoebe Bridgers so special?
ANN POWERS, BYLINE: Well, on a basic level, she's just a great songwriter, but she really is kind of the voice of the millennial generation. She can write songs that feel like, you know, close-ups in a movie, and people connect with the way she writes about grief, anxiety, loss, hope - all of the deep emotions, but really in the language of now.
PERALTA: And how do we hear that on this album?
POWERS: She is expanding her sound. She is also perfecting her lyric writing. But also, she's exploring big themes. I just feel this is one of those really, really rich records that rewards repeated listenings 'cause she goes so many places.
PERALTA: Phoebe's fans will notice that this album is a bit sonically different, too. Let's listen to the opening track, "The Outside."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE OUTSIDE")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) Crying in a suit and tie, but you should see the other guy.
POWERS: Well, as we just heard, on that first track, "The Outside," she uses a vocoder to make herself sound almost like a robot or an alien, you know, something like that. And there's a lot of electronic experimentation on this record. She's also mashing together different musical styles, like Americana and rock and electronics. It's all to create this world that we inhabit. This is such an immersive listen. It makes sense to me that her listening parties have taken place in planetariums because there's something very cosmic about the blend she's come up with.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE OUTSIDE")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) I am on the outside, watching.
PERALTA: And as you said, she's still touching on some heavy topics, like the death of her father, with whom she had a complicated relationship. Is she grieving on this album?
POWERS: Oh, yes. Definitely, this is the story of a child grieving a parent in a complicated relationship. And, honestly, Eyder, there are some almost shocking lyrics on this record about domestic abuse, about parental neglect. But the way Phoebe handles it, it's very - I don't want to say it's tender. That seems wrong. But there's a way in which she shows how love, grief, anger, regret - all of these emotions wash over you when you lose a loved one with whom you had a complicated relationship.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL STANDING")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) But I'm still standing at the top of the stairs, turning red. Pound for pound in a prom dress, you try to make me afraid.
PERALTA: To the lighter side now. I mean, Bridgers is a big enough star where, like, you know, Taylor Swift - her relationships are noted and searched for on her songs. How do we catch clues of that on this record?
POWERS: Well, yes. I mean, part of the "Lost Weekend" that gives this album its title - really, it was more like a five-, six-year span in which she wasn't making solo music. During that time, she was having very public relationships. She was dating the actor Paul Mescal for a while, and now she is partnered with the comedian and musician Bo Burnham. And Phoebe very artfully responds to the gossips on this record, you know?
She's like, hey, you want those stories? I'm going to give them to you, but I'm going to give them to you in a way that, you know, it's a little bit like a puzzle. It's a little bit like, you know, a deflection, but also, the juicy stuff is there. You just have to work for it a little bit (laughter).
PERALTA: (Laughter)
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GOVERNOR'S WALTZ")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) So let's see how long we can go without talking. Watch me pretending to sleep. I'm next to you. You're next to nothing. You promised that you'd never leave. But maybe you'll do it for me.
POWERS: You can read the lines in many different ways. So that's fun to me, you know? It's fun to kind of, like, play the game she's offering us. But yet, every song seems to be a missive from within Phoebe's own mind, her own heart, her own space.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GOVERNOR'S WALTZ")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) Being myself wasn't easy. Do it for me.
PERALTA: That's NPR Music's Ann Powers. You can read her review of Phoebe Bridgers' new album, "Lost Weekend," on npr.org. Ann, thank you for joining us.
POWERS: Thanks so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HAUNTED")
BRIDGERS: (Singing) I'm off to see an old friend. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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