Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend is here, a 16-track album that is her first solo LP since 2020’s Punisher and her most expansive collection yet, built across an extraordinary web of collaborators, session players and co-writers. After four years of relative quiet on the solo front (broken only by 2022’s ‘Sidelines’) the return has arrived with considerable momentum behind it.
The Collaborators Behind Phoebe Bridgers Lost Weekend
The production core is consistent across almost every track: Bridgers herself alongside Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska, Jack Antonoff and Alex G. What shifts is the remarkable cast rotating around them. Bo Burnham appears as a vocalist on ‘The Outside’, ‘Bobby’ and ‘Never Going Back!’, and shares lyric credits across several tracks. Conor Oberst turns up with a harmonica credit on ‘I Can’t Wait’. Nickel Creek contribute acoustic guitar, mandolin and violin to both ‘Haunted’ and ‘I Can’t Wait’. Chris Thile plays mandolin on no fewer than five tracks. Greg Leisz brings pedal steel to four.
Blake Mills, credited across the record on electric and acoustic guitar, bass and tenor guitar, takes a more starring role on ‘Liberty Tree’, while Meg Duffy handles electric guitar on the same track. Justin K Broadrick of Jesu and Mike Kinsella also appear on electric guitar on ‘Bobby’. Jim Keltner plays drums on ‘The Governor’s Waltz’. Jon Brion contributes synthesizers on ‘The Outside’ and electric guitar on ‘Lost Parade’. The string arrangements, credited to Rob Moose throughout, give the record its recurring orchestral spine.
Vocalist Caroline Shaw appears on eight of the 16 tracks, making her one of the album’s most consistent presences alongside Bridgers herself. Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus both lend their voices to ‘Lost Boys’ and ‘Haunted’. Maya Hawke receives a lyric credit on ‘Haunted’ and ‘Never Going Back!’. Damien Jurado co-wrote both ‘Lost Weekend’ and its closing reprise.
Family members are in there too. Bridgers’ brother Jackson lends his voice to ‘Kill Me’, and her pug Maxine is credited on the album’s final track, the ‘Lost Weekend (Reprise)’.
One production note stands out in the tracklist: the title track, ‘Lost Weekend’, contains a sample of ‘Notjustmoreidlechatter’ by Paul Lansky.
Release Parties, Planetariums and the Road Ahead
The build-up to the album’s release was an event in itself. The rollout included pop-up shows, a phones-free charity performance at Madison Square Garden and a series of listening parties held at planetariums around the world. According to Consequence, more than 300 record stores and other locations across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand hosted midnight release parties on 13 August.
Next year brings a full North American and European tour. The North American dates will feature Alex G as support. The European leg is where the bill gets more layered: according to Ticketmaster, the support slot will be shared between erstwhile Black Country, New Road frontman Isaac Wood and Anaïs, the moniker for French singer Anaïs Meiringer. The combination of Wood’s post-rock pedigree and Meiringer’s project makes for a distinctly European flavour to those dates.
Lost Weekend is out now on Dead Oceans. The full album credits are listed across all 16 tracks above.
