Phoebe Bridgers escapes in new single ‘Kyoto’

Following on from ‘Garden Song’, ‘Kyoto’ is the second single from Phoebe Bridgers‘ upcoming sophomore album Punisher.

In ‘Kyoto’, the fuzzy guitar riffs and heavenly vocals from Phoebe fuel the escapism of the track and its many layers of dissociation. “This song is about impostor syndrome”, shared Bridgers. “About being in Japan for the first time, somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, and playing my music to people who want to hear it, feeling like I’m living someone else’s life. I dissociate when bad things happen to me, but also when good things happen. It can feel like I’m performing what I think I’m supposed to be like.”

Also, ‘Kyoto’ sees a change in tempo for Bridgers, who wanted a change from writing slower songs. “I wrote this one as a ballad first, but at that point I was so sick of recording slow songs, it turned into this.”

Her second LP will follow on from her 2017 debut album Stranger In The Alps. Phoebe Bridgers worked on the new album with co-producers Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. Punisher will feature collaborations with Conor Oberest (Better Oblivion Community Center), along with boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacas and Julien Baker.

The new album Punisher will be out on June 19 via Dead Oceans.

Bridgers was hoping to film the music video for the new track in Japan last month, but the current pandemic meant that she had to opt for a green screen back in Los Angeles instead. Check out the plan B music video for ‘Kyoto’ below!