Phoebe Bridgers review, Leaf, Liverpool: One of America's most promising songwriters

Artist is never too far from the emotional truth behind her work, however self-effacing she may be

Phoebe Bridgers in concert at Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York, USA - 23 Feb 2018 (Rex)

In a recent interview she conducted with Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon, Phoebe Bridgers compared her own experiences of touring Britain with his, particularly as he framed them in his 2012 track “UK Blues”.

The song, written in the stream-of-consciousness style that has become Kozelek’s calling card in recent years, paints a deeply unglamorous picture of life on the road in the country.

“I used to think ‘UK Blues’ was only vaguely based in reality, and mostly satirical,” Bridgers told him. “After touring there a couple times now I find the song profoundly sad and truthful.”

Perhaps she’ll change her mind after tonight’s show in Liverpool, a sellout in the ornate live room above Leaf tea shop on what is technically her first UK tour proper; she should have played across town with Pinegrove back in March, only for that tour to be nixed when the band’s frontman became mired in allegations of sexual coercion.

She remains on the road in support of last year’s superb debut LP Stranger in the Alps, an emotionally rich and endearingly honest collection that’s laced with a witty self-awareness. It’s presented in faithful, straightforward fashion tonight, with a bare-bones backing band that keeps Bridgers front and centre. On record, “Smoke Signals”, a raw elegy for Lemmy, Bowie and lost love, opens proceedings in bracing fashion and does likewise tonight, all lilting guitar and vocal fragility.

Bridgers is an engaging and self-effacing stage presence, apologising for spending one song distracted by thoughts of laundry and revealing that another one “came from a paranoid iPhone note, and is why I don’t smoke weed”.

She’s never too far away from the emotional truth behind her work, though. Before playing “Would You Rather”, a duet that features Conor Oberst on record and support act Harrison Whitford tonight, she reveals it’s about her brother, and notes that Father’s Day is coming up – and that she won’t be marking it. “He’s half the man, and you’re twice as tall,” runs the final line.

It’s moments like that, when Bridgers exposes a nerve, that elevate tonight’s show above the level of simply feeling like a polished presentation of the record; you get the sense you’re witnessing a genuine confessional instead.

A solo cover of Tom Petty’s “It’ll All Work Out” is a nice touch, as well as an extended take on Kozelek’s ”You Missed My Heart” for the one-song encore. Bridgers really shines, though, on her own tracks; still only 23, she’s quickly positioned herself as one of America’s most promising young songwriters.