Phoebe Bridgers’ new album, Lost Weekend, is almost here, and the reviews are trickling in. Scanning the credits, you’ll come across both longtime collaborators (Christian Lee Hutson, her boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, and others) and some new faces (Jack Antonoff, Alex G on additional production). Most intriguingly of all, there’s a mystery guest: Who is Son-John Johnson?
“Johnson” is credited as contributing to two Lost Weekend tracks: “Kill Me” and “I Can’t Wait.” Whoever he is, he provides backing vocals on the former, and takes a more pronounced role on “I Can’t Wait,” duetting with Bridgers. “All my life/Side by side/Hyde Jekyll Hyde/Finally together,” they sing in unison.
If you’ve been tuned in to new music lately, this guy is going to sound awfully familiar. That’s because he sounds like Geese frontman Cameron Winter. Like, a lot. Winter has one of the most recognizable voices in rock right now, and his raw falsetto is unmistakable on these tracks. It’s either him or a very good impersonator.
Asked about this by Rolling Stone, Winter just laughs. “I’ll have to contact my lawyer,” he says.
A rep for Bridgers did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But it’s worth noting that Winter has a history of using cheeky pseudonyms — earlier this year, he performed a secret solo show billed as “Chet Chomsky.”
Lost Weekend arrives Aug. 14 via Dead Oceans. Bridgers announced the album earlier this summer, then dropped the single “Lost Boys.” She performed it twice during surprise appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, once with young musicians, and a second time with veteran musicians that included the legendary Dan Reeder.
Lost Weekend marks Bridgers’ first new solo album in six years, following 2020’s Punisher. One month after the album release, she’ll embark on the Lost Tour, kicking off on Sept. 15 in Indianapolis. Just like the intimate acoustic shows she recently surprised fans with across the country, the Lost Tour will be completely phoneless. “If any of you stuck an Apple Watch up your ass to record this, please don’t post it on the internet,” she told the crowd at Madison Square Garden in June. “I’m trusting you.”
While we wait for the official release, here’s everything we know about Lost Weekend.
