If any artist should exist with the merit to soundtrack the apocalypse, let it be 26 year old Phoebe Bridgers. 

On November 20, 2020, Phoebe Bridgers released her four-track EP Copycat Killer featuring Rob Moose. Rob Moose is a Grammy-award winning multi-instrumentalist and string arranger. He has worked on over 400 albums, with artists as varied as Paul Simon, Taylor Swift, and Bon Iver, and yMusic, who recently performed for Cal Performances. Rob Moose also worked on Bridgers’ 2017 album Stranger in the Alps (an homage to a sanitized quote from The Big Lebowski). The EP features rearrangements of “Kyoto,” “Savior Complex,” “Copycat Killer” and “Punisher,” four songs off of her standout album Punisher, released in June.  Listeners should expect different things from Copycat Killer and Punisher. Although Copycat Killer has stripped away Punisher’s guitars, drums, and exciting production, it is hardly a downgrade. Rather, Bridgers’ lyrics (her most powerful weapon) shine through.  

Bridgers is easily my favorite artist. Not unlike the show Fleabag (which was an influence for her recent album Punisher [2020]), Bridgers has a penchant for hilariously dark lyrics and enjoyable melodies that frankly acknowledge the mundane annoyances of human existence. 

Phoebe Bridgers grew up in Pasadena, California and attended the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, but she was writing music far before that. Bridgers has collaborated with several artists in the past few years. She is one third of boygenius, along with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. She also worked with longtime musical influence, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes for their musical project Better Oblivion Community Center. 

Phoebe Bridgers has stayed busy during quarantine. In the last month alone, she released a song called “Miracle of Life” with Oberst to support Planned Parenthood. Maggie Rogers and her released a cover of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls in honor of the election results and the proceeds went to Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight. By the time this article is published, Bridgers’ cover of country icon Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” will be released. 

Photo Credit: Olof Grind, 2020

“Kyoto” opens with a wailing violin. Bridgers’ voice overpowers the delicate arrangements, but only slightly. It is immediately clear that Moose has no intent of faithfully replicating the song’s original notes. He takes the liberty of adding several novel musical patterns. The pared-back sound allows for the tragi-comedy of Bridgers’ lyrics. In Bridgers’ interview with the New York Times, she admits Kyoto was initially a slow ballad, as most of her songs are. The Copycat Killer version of Kyoto crawls at a slower pace than its Punisher counterpart. I prefer the NPR Tinydesk version of “Kyoto”, which has been faithfully uploaded onto Soundcloud. 

The string elements at the beginning of “Savior Complex” distract from the devastating lyrics at hand. But I begin to enjoy the song around the one-minute mark. The simple instrumentation that ornaments some of Bridgers’ most painful lyrics exacerbates the devastating mood “Savior Complex” artfully crafts. 

Baby, you’re a vampire
You want blood and I promised
I’m a bad liar
With a savior complex
All the skeletons you hide
Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine

“Chinese Satellite” is my favorite track on the EP. I enjoyed all of the songs on Punisher, but did not go out of my way to listen to “Chinese Satellite.”  The quick beats are electrifying and the lyrics coupled with Bridgers’ enunciation makes the message loud and clear. I haven’t been able to get the beginning of the song out of my head ever since I first heard it. Nowhere is Moose’s musical genius on better display.; he lets himself loose and speeds up the beat of the song, allowing the lyrics to worm themselves into your head. 

I’ve been running around in circles
Pretending to be myself
Why would somebody do this on purpose
When they could do something else?
Drowning out the morning birds
With the same three songs over and over
I wish I wrote it, but I didn’t so I learn the words
Hum along ’til the feeling’s gone forever

“Punisher,” about Elliott Smith, puts Bridgers’ vocals on full display.  A “punisher” is musical slang for overzealous fans that lack self-control when talking to their musical heroes. Smith is one of Bridgers’ greatest musical heroes, and here she admits she would be a punisher had ever she met Smith. “Bite The Hand” by boygenius touches upon the concept of “punishers” as well.  The Punisher version muffles Phoebe’s voice, making it sound as if she is singing underwater.  

Photo Credits: Phoebe Bridgers, Instagram (2017); Elliott Smith, SKG Music (2000)

I thoroughly enjoyed this EP, mostly because I did not expect the songs to sound the way they did on Punisher. I am grateful for the artistic leaps of faith Phoebe Bridgers and Rob Moose took when reframing all four songs on this EP. I have already added “Chinese Satellite (Copycat Killer Version)” to a couple playlists of mine. Clearly, the alternate tempo worked favorably for my preferences. I appreciated the opportunity to hear Bridgers’ bare vocals amongst sparse string arrangements. It gave me the chance to revisit her vulnerable lyrics and reconsider my past associations with her music. 

 

Written by Erika Badalyan

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