Culture Cabinet

Bridget Kearney has quite the impressive CV. 

While she’s likely best known for her work with bands such as Lake Street Dive and BB Wisely, of which she’s a founding member, her credits expand to collaborating with a number of different indie and folk groups, to teaching songwriting classes at Princeton University, to even performing with Ed Sheeran. 

And now, she has another feat to add: the release of her third solo album, Comeback Kid, out April 12. 

The album features twelve tracks, all written by Bridget, that feel like a cohesive journey through the concept of a “comeback,” whether it’s through the literal sense of overcoming something, or in the more metaphorical sense of a return to oneself. The album transcends genre, with songs that give off a wavy, dreamy synth-pop feel. 

Growing up in Iowa, Bridget became interested in music from a young age. “I got into music through like church choir and school orchestra and eventually jazz band,” she explains, “and then went to college at New England Conservatory in Boston for jazz bass.

“But all the while, I had been writing songs. I had rock band in junior high that I was writing songs for, and then eventually got back to writing songs in college through a couple of different outlets like Lake Street Dive and another band that I was in called With Joy Kills Sorrow. And in those situations, I was like writing songs, but for a different singer to sing.”

It wasn’t until a friend suggested she record some demos that Bridget considered trying her hand at solo work.

“We were like, ‘Oh, these are pretty good.’ I like singing in the studio. So started putting out solo records that had my own voice singing my own songs.” 

Her first solo album, Won’t Let You Down was released in 2017, and her sophomore album, Snakes of Paradise was released in April of last year. While Comeback Kid feels close enough in line to Bridget’s previous work, maintaining her unique sound and signature style, there’s a level of freshness that will keep the listener on their toes. 

That unique sound, of course, is only fed by Bridget’s unique approach to songwriting. On Comeback Kid, we find an artist approaching her songs as if through the lens of a camera. Which, may feel paradoxical in nature: how does one convey something visual through a song? 

“I’m mostly interested in walking around the world, and just keeping an eye out for things that I think would make a good song idea,” Bridget explains. “And then usually, I’ll have a Notes app that will just contain a bunch of those. And I’ll eventually, when I have time to sit down and work on writing songs, I’ll have turned to that Notes app. Like, ‘Security Camera’ [one of the album’s singles], like, ‘What if there was a song that was about all of the security camera footage that exists around me here in New York City, but from the angle of capturing really special perfect moments in my memory, you know? Instead of like capturing someone in the act of committing a crime.”

“That’s my favorite way to write a song is to have a little go to list of [musical ideas]. I think with the song, ‘Sleep In,’ that more came from a musical mashup concept that I had, which was like, taking chords from really lush, classical music like Debussy, Ravel, that kind of era of classical music, and then mashing it up with like a Radiohead fast rock beat or something. And I was just like, ‘I wonder how those two things will feel together.’ And then you make the musical statement and see what it says to you, lyrically.” 

While Comeback Kid features twelve impressive, no-skip tracks, with standouts include “If You’re Driving,” the opening track of the album, “Obsessed,” and “Don’t Thing About the Polar Bear.” But for Bridget, the title track, “Comeback Kid,” stand out. And thus, the inspiration for the album themes come back into play. 

“The song ‘Comeback Kid’ was was one that, you know, I decided to name the album after. And in some ways, it summed up some of the themes of the album, or the arc of the album, which includes many sort of losses and struggles, and many and many victories. So it’s sort of about perseverance, but also a little bit backward looking. Like, come back, looking towards the past, and with some sense of longing, and then eventually some sense of closure.”  

“It also just kind of like, satisfies some of my nerdy songwriter-ness with the multiple twists on the word ‘comeback.’ Like, the first verse goes, ‘What would I say, if I saw you again? Would I say the jerk store called, and they’re running out of you?’ Which is a quote from a Seinfeld. episode. So that’s, like, come back in the context of a joke or a retort.” 

She continues to explain the different iterations of the word “comeback” that she uses throughout the song. And through this, I can see exactly what makes Bridget Kearney’s music so good. There’s a razor sharp mind behind the friendly, approachable person I’m speaking with, and over the course of our conversation, I am given insight into just how vast her musical knowledge and understanding is. In the span of seventeen minutes, she manages to reference influences that range from classical artists like Debussy and Ravel, to Radiohead, to Britney Howard, eventually chuckling and adding, “I like Taylor Swift.” 

This is a woman who appreciates multiple genres of music, takes inspiration from the seemingly mundane, and is able to use both qualities to her advantage. The end result being a cohesive and brilliant album, that one would be hard pressed to try to duplicate. 

But as for what she hopes for this album, Bridget says she merely hopes for connection with the listener. 

“Someone left a comment on a video that I had recently made for the song ‘Obsessed,’ and it was a someone who said they were 60 years old. They live in Ukraine. And they found a sense of warmth from my music. And I was very touched by that. And I think that is something that, in spite of a lot of the songs having some element of sadness to them, I always want them to be couched in overcoming that with love and warmth.” 

And on that front, Bridget Kearney undeniably succeeds. 

You can stream Bridget Kearney below. Comeback Kid will be released on April 12.