The Greatest Indie Lyricist of Our Generation

When I personally think about who I believe is the best indie songwriter or lyricist of our generation, I boil it down to two options: Phoebe Bridgers and Adrianne Lenker. I like the emotional content of both artists for similar reasons, but I think the way that they use their lyrics to express those feelings is different. For this blog, I’m specifically trying to talk about just the lyrical content of their music, not any other melodic or rhythmic ideas, as I think it is too hard and unfair to compare the musicality between artists with different sounds.  

Photo from Guitar.com

Phoebe and Adrianne both grew up playing and listening to music because of their family, and studied music in school, too. When it comes to their sound, Adrianne definitely has more of a folk-rock sound to her music, while Phoebe has more pop and indie sounds. They also both have talked about having some of the same musical inspirations, such as Elliott Smith, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. In their songs, the two of them explore themes of love, heartbreak, loss, vulnerability, and more, so where are they different?

When it comes to their lyrics and how they present them, from my perspective, Phoebe’s music features more literal, humorous, and existential lyricism. When I say that Phoebe’s lyrics are literal, I mean that her words tell stories that I can clearly imagine and see. Her songs feel cinematographic like a movie, and she uses a lot more I and you phrases compared to Adrianne. Songs like Moon Song, I Know The End, and You Missed My Heart are great examples of using creative storytelling to convey deep emotions. On top of that, she uses humor in her lyrics too, like saying “Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all of the time” in her song Funeral which makes the lyrics feel a little more relatable and personal to audiences. Also, she uses a lot of nihilistic ideas in her music, where she describes how things are meaningless, like the lyrics “I want to believe, instead I look at the sky, and I feel nothing” from Chinese Satellite.  

Photo by Phoebe Bridgers

Adrianne, on the other hand, I think that her lyrics are more impressionistic and use other senses like touch, smell, and taste to convey emotions. When I listen to Adrianne Lenker’s music, the lyrics aren’t following a story, but they’re all carefully placed where they are to make you feel something from it. Lyrics like “Like the rock bears the weather, not a lot, just forever” from not a lot, just forever or “Mango in your mouth, juice dripping” from anything remind me about how she expresses emotions by describing the way things feel over what exactly happened.

Photo by Adrianne Lenker

Both artists have the ability to make audiences feel real deep emotions from their lyrics. Overall, I’d have to say that Phoebe Bridgers’ lyrics are more vivid and better at telling a story, meanwhile Adrianne Lenker’s lyrics are more abstract and more poetic. Whichever one you like more is for you, the listener, to decide.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Caleb G / Industry Insider