DVD Menu is a foreboding instrumental introduction to the album; not only in the sense that it’s atmospherically dark but also because it parallels the melody of the final breakdown towards the end of the record’s closer, “I Know the End”.

Mid 8.

Garden Song is a bittersweet look at Phoebe Bridgers’ past, with recurring contrasts and nuances added to the reminiscing. Her childhood memories and melancholic allusions to growing up do eventually arrive at a largely optimistic conclusion, however. Instrumentally, this cut feels somewhat uncanny, the looming guitar and deep vocal accompaniment add a fitting unease to an already intimate cut.

Low 8.

Kyoto juxtaposes a trip to Japan with memories from back home in order to create a robust and immersive emotional painting of Phoebe Bridgers’ love/hate relationship with her father. This unease —and that of her father’s drug abuse— hunts her regardless of where she is, spoiling her wishful hope for escapism that at one point helped her. This track takes the songwriting’s angst and complements it with an energetic detour from the more downcast approach of previous points. The balance between the explosive chorus and the lively verses, sweetly adorned with mellotron melodies and brass arrangements, is quite commendably curated and executed.

Low-Mid 8.

Punisher is a heartfelt though ever-so-slightly humdrum tribute song to Phoebe Bridgers’ favourite artist, Elliott Smith. She expresses her admiration, while also speaking of her fear of possibly being a *punisher* if he was still around — a term used for fans so overjoyed with emotion that they make the artist uncomfortable. Instrumentally, this track comes back to the more ballad-driven approach, with intimacy to follow the last cut’s impact. Phoebe Bridgers’ vocals remain candid and silky, and the rest of the composition adorns this nicely. There are some subtle piano and string arrangements that make the production all the more interesting; especially because of the unique and fitting tone achieved for the piano.

Low 8.

Halloween is quite a bleak track about the dark side of love. The deceit, dishonesty, and even aggression that is justified by what we deficiently and wrongfully assume is love time and time again. Moreover, in terms of arranging, the strings on this song are a noteworthy set of plucked accompaniment, and they’re also creepy-like — an allusion to the song’s title, of course. That being said, the track is overly laid-back though still rather moving. The morose production aesthetic is an emotive device that has chemistry with the relaxed melodic compositions and gloomy arrangements.

Mid 7.

Chinese Satellite is —lyrically— somewhat underwhelming. Phoebe Bridgers expresses her desire to believe in a higher power but struggles to be convinced. The songwriting explores interesting perspectives of wholeheartedly desiring to have faith; however, it remains kind of unevocative as a whole. On the other (musical) hand, this lukewarm-ness is most definitely not the case for the instrumental. The string arrangements once again compliment the songwriting beautifully, giving the structure a defined sharpness that lets the wonderfully emotive chorus shine every time it arrives. The vocals also boast a great chemistry with the rest of the inspiring and grand production.

Mid 8.

Moon Song is a textbook depiction of unreciprocated and lopsided relationships. The harmful dynamic of the protagonist is evident; saddeningly, both parties continue to hurt each other as the cut goes on. More specifically, the speaker demeans themselves to the point that they decide to remain in this unfortunately common situation. Additionally, the production approach is intimate and sorrowful once again, though this time it hits the mark a bit less. The very forward vocal mixing and dry drumset tone have a rather alluring chemistry with the glimmering yet somewhat ashy guitar tones — both acoustic and electric. However, compositionally, it lands a little on the safe side.

Mid-High 7.

Savior Complex is a cohesive continuation of the last track. This time around, the self-negligence of the past song is brought back in the form of a *savior complex* that leaves the protagonist in a constant state of trying to fix their partner’s problems, in spite of themselves. However, the writing is not as focused and comes across as a slightly lesser version of the last cut. Sonically, however, this track takes the intimacy of the last to the next level, delivering on a wholly downcast moment with the ability to tug on your heartstrings by virtue of the simple yet melancholic melodies and the atmospheric production elements.

Low-Mid 8.

ICU: Here, the “I can see the brush strokes” line is an honestly highly applaudable metaphor that sums up the topic of this point in the record: the all-too-familiar and hard-hitting feeling of seeing a previously admirable person for what they actually are, with all their flaws exposed and exacerbated. Simultaneously, there is a story of Phoebe Bridgers being locked out of her house while drunk — a comical situation to accompany the heavier epiphany from before. Instrumentally, the cut goes back to the folk-rock influences with this outgoing and more energetic composition. The short chorus is a bit of a calmer detour, but the distorted guitars and dynamic drum mixing make for a set of lively passages in the verses.

Low-Mid 8.

Graceland Too is probably the most incoherent track on the album, as the songwriting is honestly all over the place. However, this ends up being quite fitting because of the cut’s anecdotal feel; ultimately making this an eclectic, collage-like, and miscellaneous re-visiting of previous themes. Namely, the writing once again touches on the loss of oneself (or one’s mind) in an attempt to fix someone else… and be their saviour. This melancholic feeling of loss in oneself is powerfully depicted in the sonic road it took — that of a banjo-adorned ballad. The acoustic feel of this penultimate song is not only massively emotional, but it’s an excellent precedent for the monstrous closer.

High 8.

I Know the End begins with a juxtaposition of wishing for more, and having a disheartened contentment in a “quiet life”. The song, in turn, shifts to portray disconnection in the speaker’s romantic relationship, unable to break away from it because of a “gravity” that holds them together — but the lyrics in the chorus suggest that this has since ended. However, this all switches in the second half, once the narrator accepts the metaphoric death of their romance and walks into a tornado. The songwriting becomes an apocalypse, admirably represented by a road trip to the north of California. This latter half is filled with metaphors, painting a beautifully hyperbolic realisation of an *end*, adorned with multiple references and varied topics including critiques of US American mentality and consumerism. The musical side of things follows this, as the first half is a dreamy passage with a lot of effects. There are atmospheric noises and reverb-heavy guitars that create an ambience, while still leaving enough space for Phoebe Bridgers’ heartfelt vocal performance. The second half, however, leisurely increases in energy into absolute insanity; pristinely showcasing a buildup, setting up a larger-than-life outro. The fantastic arrangement for the brass section intensifies the record’s conclusion, along with the cut-throat screaming and electrifying guitar tones. Also, the final melody is cyclical with the opening track, which is an applaudable aspect to close this experience with.

Low-Mid 9.