“It doesn’t feel like Phoebe,” was the first reaction I heard to Phoebe Bridgers’ new single, "Sidelines," released April 15. Coming off 2020’s Punisher, Bridgers’ last original release, I couldn’t agree more. Luckily, there’s hope.
"Sidelines" was originally written by Marshall Vore, Bridgers’ drummer, which he showed to her early on in the pandemic. Recently, Bridgers was approached by Hulu to provide a song for their new show, Conversations With Friends, slated for release on May 15. Having nothing in her catalog to match the theme, Vore recommended they use "Sidelines." After Vore, Bridgers and Ruby Henley did some rewrites, that’s exactly what happened.
The track is a pretty straightforward love song from the perspective of someone who has fully accepted whatever life has to throw at them, until a lover shows up. Then they start to grow, culminating in a strong outro: “And I used to think / You could hear the ocean in a seashell / What a childish thing.” The problem isn’t necessarily in the lyrics, but in the delivery. Bridgers doesn’t provide the emotional depth like in Punisher, or even her 2021 cover of Tom Waits’ "Day After Tomorrow." It just feels like background music.
Even if you are a fan of "Sidelines," it should come as good news the single isn’t teasing an upcoming album. Sidelines is nowhere near as good as "Garden Song," "Kyoto" or "I See You" (later shortened to "ICU"), the three singles leading up to Punisher. The whole point of releasing singles leading up to a record is to build excitement; to show fans the best of the best. If "Sidelines" is the best of the best off a Bridgers album, it would be an awful album.
Unfortunately, alongside the release of "Sidelines," Bridgers stated the single will be her last new music for 2022. Luckily, there’s hope. In an interview with KROQ released on April 16, Bridgers half-reversed course, when she said: “I try to do things that are exciting, so I never really know what I’m gonna do.”