Phoebe Bridgers : Punisher"

Here is another moody female folk crooner, though one that is at the top of their peers in terms of both buzz and quality. She does not just wallow in introspection making some pretty moving indie rock on the second song to contrast the more internalized opener. The title track however and haunts with less in terms of melodies to hook you in. Not to say there is not depth and feeling to the more ghostly approach it just require a certain mood to ingest.  The narraitve of " Halloween" is a little more direct, thus balancing out the ambiance. She balances out creating wonderful songs with making empassioned songs on "Chinese Satillite".

"Moon Song" finds the ambiance swelling with her melody floating against it in the kind of balancing that she pulls off better than most. Due to the languid tone of this song and many of the others before it I think I would have to be in a certain mood to get a great deal of rotation out of this though I can see this growing on me. In the comments about this album on Bandcamp one fan said it was the perfect album for her to hit bottom to. I can hear where that might be true. There is a very fragile vulnerability to the lyrics. "Savior Complex" follows the rules of conventional song writing . It is good for what it is but I do npot feel like it plays to her strengths.

The sense of movement to "ICU" breaks up the mood the album was setting. I can also hear a subtle country influence coloring it. This country vibe is pushed even further on "Graceland Too" . As a song however 'ICU' is stronger, for as we have seen before when she plays by the rules of conventional songwriting she gives away a little of her power. " She balances the two sides of what she does , the more experimental one with the ability to write more accessible songs when she wants as she closes the album with " I Know the End" . It digs into the wide range of dynamics she is capable of while staying to the sedate breathy tone she normally sings with.  I will round this up to a 9.5 as it's a beautiful album heavy on melancholy and expresses a desperate longing of the inward kind. Out on Dead Oceans.