Phoebe Bridgers’ 2023 was career development heaven. Her band Boygenius released their first album The Record in March 2023 (and won three Grammys for it), followed it up with a companion EP called The Rest in October 2023, then went on an international tour during the second half of the year. Bridgers also spent May 2023 opening for 12 shows on the first U.S. leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. If you haven’t seen her live, you’ve probably seen her on a grainy TikTok livestream. Bridgers was everywhere in 2023 — except inside a recording studio working on her next album.
Since Bridgers’ songs are constantly set to heartbreaking TikTok edits that go viral in two seconds, you might not have realized that her last full solo studio album, Punisher, came out in June 2020. (She released a Christmas EP called The Parting Glass in November 2023, but let’s look past that.) Though Pharbz were very well fed with Boygenius content in 2023, they’re eager to hear more solo music from Bridgers in 2024. And, since Boygenius announced they’re going on hiatus, it looks like Bridgers might finally have some free time to work on her next solo project.
Will 2024 be the year Bridgers releases her next solo album? TBH, I don’t think so.
Bridgers has gone almost completely off the grid. She wiped her Instagram and TikTok accounts (including her profile pictures and pre-fame posts) and deleted her Twitter/X account. She also unfollowed her two Boygenius bandmates, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, on Instagram, as well as Boygenius’ joint Instagram account. Before you start freaking out about a potential fallout (raise your hand if One Direction’s “hiatus” scarred you), rest assured they’re all on good terms. Bridgers has occasionally posted IG Stories with Baker and Dacus since clearing her page.
Bridgers explained to Vanity Fair in February 2024 that her social media cleanse is for the sake of her mental health. “I can’t feel my life right now, and I’m working to be able to, and the internet doesn’t help.” She added, “I can’t function if I do anything in 2024 that is public.”
This isn’t the first time Bridgers has voiced wanting to take a break from the public eye. In Boygenius’ Rolling Stone cover story, Bridgers said, “If I was going on a solo-album campaign right now, I wouldn’t. I’d need a break.” Notice that she specified needing a break from campaigning, not songwriting.Â
Boygenius released The Record five years after their first self-titled EP. If the band follows this schedule for their next project, fans can expect Boygenius to come back in 2029. Bridgers will likely release a solo album in the meantime, probably in 2025 or 2026. It depends on how seriously she takes her break this year. She may spend part of it writing for her next solo album, but honestly? It sounds like she wants to take a proper step back from her career in 2024. After releasing music and touring almost non-stop since 2020, she deserves it.