Phoebe Bridgers surprised fans with the release of the fantastic "Garden Song" a few months back. A lo-fi, indie tune highlighting Bridgers' incredible songwriting skills, it was the first taste of her upcoming sophomore album, Punisher.
Keeping the momentum going, Bridgers dropped the album's second single, "Kyoto." As the title suggests, the song is about the Japanese city, and was written after Bridgers' first trip to the Lome of the Rising Sun. This is another wonderful track with a killer melody from the ascending star. Talking about the track, Bridgers said:
This song is about impostor syndrome. 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. I wrote this one as a ballad first, but at that point I was so sick of recording slow songs, it turned into this.
The accompanying film clip features Bridgers in a skeleton onesie, filmed in front of a green screen to look like she's in Japan, after the original video shoot was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Personally, I like the use of the green screen and think it complements Bridgers' aesthetic.
Punisher is set for release June 19.
SIMILAR SONGS
