Phoebe Bridgers’s long-anticipated return to solo music has come at the perfect time for Lance Oppenheim — there is no artist more suited to match the intense and unsettling tone of his recent thriller ‘Primetime’. While the dark, vulnerable tone which dominates her recent album Lost Weekend is clearly carried into ‘On Video’, Bridgers also leans into a far heavier sound on this new single than ever before.
The song opens with a haunting, distorted guitar riff — reflective of Bridgers’s current supernatural aesthetic and sound — but soon settles as a moody grunge anthem. The simple yet dense guitar is extremely Nirvana-esque, carrying the same angst and intensity as ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Lithium’. The song then quickly and fearlessly plunges into its chorus, and although heavy drums and guitar kick in, it is Bridgers’s voice which carries the weight of this drop, fiercely conveying both desperation and rage.
Lyrically, ‘On Video’ perfectly encapsulates the themes of surveillance, power, and helplessness portrayed in ‘Primetime’. Sung in the second person, Bridgers ominously declares “I’ve got it all on video” and confesses to “watching you like a common criminal”. However, beyond the lyrics, it is the descending minor melodies which crucially unsettle the listener. Mainly present in the backing vocals and piano, these uneasy melodies draw comparison to tracks on Radiohead’s OK Computer, most strikingly ‘Karma Police’.
This single is ultimately a showcase of Bridgers’s ability to create topically and musically dark songs that are also laced with delicate melodies and vulnerability. However, in genre and style, she has stepped outside of her comfort zone into a heavier sound — one which she should certainly return to again.
“Bridgers performing at The Crocodile in 2018” by David Lee is licensed under “C.C. BY-SA 2.0“
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