Phoebe Bridgers on The National: “They’re just profoundly fucking amazing”
Phoebe Bridgers has spoken out on her love for The National – as well as her collaboration on their upcoming album, ‘First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’.
Bridgers had previously joined The National on stage numerous times in 2019 to perform songs from their previous album ‘I Am Easy To Find‘, with the singer-songwriter and Boygenius member also collaborating with frontman Matt Berninger on the single ‘Walking On A String’ ahead of his 2020 debut solo album ‘Serpentine Prison‘.
As part of an exclusive cover interview with The National and their collaborators for the latest issue of Uncut, Bridgers discussed her admiration for the indie veterans.
“My friends and I have this joke about The National,” started Bridgers. “Obviously they’re hugely popular, but we still feel this ownership over them.”
Adopting a ‘stroppy and possessive’ tone, she mimicked an argument with her friends,”‘No but you don’t like them in the right way! Do you even understand how profound this band is?’” before adding: “Because they are profoundly fucking amazing.”
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On the band’s new album ‘First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’, Bridgers features on two tracks – the new single ‘Your Mind Is Not Your Friend’ and ‘This Isn’t Helping’. The collaboration came about when Berninger found himself suffering from depression and writer’s block, before Bridgers inadvertently inspired him by playing him some new songs she’d been working on.
“The musicians whose lyrics I care about who are not in my bands, they’re rare to me and dear to me,” said Bridgers. “So I thought it would be a cool experiment.”
When he arrived at her house, Berninger then surprised her by playing some new songs by The National and asking her to feature on them.
Speaking of the solace he took from their conversations about lyrics, Berninger told Uncut: “She knows she’s good at defining what she hates about herself… I was deep in a self-hating zone and I thought, ‘Well, alright, that’s what you’re supposed to write about.’”
Elsewhere in the interview, Berninger spoke candidly candidly about overcoming depression and writer’s block with the “faith” and support of his wife and band, while the other members also talked about their journey back from the brink and their own individual struggles.
Order the new June issue of Uncut here, which also comes with a 15-track CD of The National deep cuts, solo and collaborative rarities, including two unreleased tracks – as well as features on George Harrison, Lucinda Williams, Ian Hunter, Joanna Newsom, Fatoumata Diawara, Natalie Merchant, Shirley Collins, Jonathan Richman, The Orb, Cian Nugent and more.
The National release ‘First Two Pages Of Frankenstein’ on April 28, and will head out on a world tour that takes in dates in the UK, US and Europe throughout the summer. Visit here for tickets and more information.
Having just released the acclaimed new album ‘The Record‘, Bridgers and Boygenius will head out on a run of festival and headline dates across North America, the UK and Europe this summer. Visit here for tickets and more information.
