American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers reaches the middle of her album “Lost Weekend” with “Panorama,” track eight of the 16-track production.
This one starts experimental and then settles into something like a classic verse. Bridgers writes a single stanza that reads more like a poetry fragment than a typical lyric, scene-setting rather than delivering a story directly. “Panorama hotel room, I took this number for the view,” she sings, offering listeners a momentary glimpse rather than a complete story arc.
The vocoder effect from opener “The Outside” pops up here too, linking the album’s early detachment back into its middle length. Banjo and mandolin play side by side with synths and guitars, providing a pleasant foundation that turns moodier as the piece goes on, reflecting the melancholy slide that pervades much of “Lost Weekend.”
“Panorama” sits in the dead center of the album, and is less a song unto itself than a structural hinge. It’s sandwiched between “Lost Weekend” and “Still Standing,” providing a little breather on the album before Bridgers plunges further into family history on the next songs.
“Panorama” is intentionally short and fragmentary, rewarding close listening over a casual first pass — which phrase on this one remained with you the longest?
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