Phoebe Bridgers makes for an unlikely A-lister. An emo indie-folk artist with a predilection for skeleton onesies, Twitter shitposting and vocalising her very darkest thoughts and feelings in song, you can’t imagine the Pasadena-raised star being anything but allergic to celebrity culture.
And yet with multiple Grammy nominations for her latest LP Punisher, co-signs from Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones, and her name on the Met Gala’s notoriously exclusive guestlist, Bridgers is absolutely approaching that level of fame – and fast.
If there’s a sure sign that Bridgers might be reluctant to relinquish a more low-key lifestyle just yet, it’s that she’s currently playing a run of four consecutive nights at Brixton Academy, rather than simply booking the O2.
Judging by the barrage of screams that greeted her on opening night – as well as the encyclopaedic knowledge every audience member seemed to have of her self-lacerating lyrics – the game’s already up. Fortunately, Bridgers’ current show wouldn’t seem out of place in arenas.
Striding out to the squall of pre-recorded rock riffs – her ironic, death metal-inspired logo in flames on the screen behind her – Bridgers made the bold choice of launching straight into her biggest hit Motion Sickness, delivering a muscular, alt-country reimagining brilliantly bolstered by the five-piece band. An ethereal rendition of Garden Song introduced the set’s visual motif, with bespoke video illustrations of a pop-up book projected onto a night sky for each song.
During the eerie atmospherics of Punisher, she donned a Stetson festooned with fairy lights and sung the final chorus spinning in circles, while at the end of Scott Street she dashed down to the front rows and shared her mic with fans.
Flashes of Bridgers’ self-deprecating wit between songs were almost as well received as her beautifully diaphanous vocals. Dangling a quizzical, “Who has a good relationship with their father?” Kyoto was jokingly dedicated to “all the dads”, while latest single Sidelines was introduced with, “This goes out to people who think when someone’s nice to them it’s a trick.”
Later in the set, Bridgers attacked the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, deadpanning, “It’s incredible to be outdone politically by a country with a royal family.”
Saving the aptly-titled I Know The End for last, the band was joined by two violinists, a cellist and an additional trumpeter, and the slow burning verses were eventually engulfed by a deeply cathartic wall of sound. Witnessing Bridgers shred on her knees at the climax, surrounded by smoke cannons, only served to reinforce what we already knew: we won’t be seeing her in venues this intimate for much longer.
