Bright Eyes and Phoebe Bridgers both released wonderful new albums this year — for Bright Eyes, it was their first as a band in nine years; for Bridgers, it was her fourth project in as many years. The two are back again in just a matter of months, releasing a new song supporting abortion rights amid voting in the 2020 presidential election and the Supreme Court confirmation battle for abortion rights opponent Amy Coney Barrett. “Miracle of Life†will raise money to go to Planned Parenthood, and is available exclusively on Bandcamp. “This song should not exist in 2020 America,†Bright Eyes leader Conor Oberst wrote in a statement, according to Stereogum. “Hopefully, if we all work together and vote, it will make this song sound as irrelevant and outdated as it should.†The lyrics are unsparing: “Get cured with a coat hanger,†Oberst and Bridgers sing in the chorus. “Girl, you’re in America now.â€
The song also features Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore. It’s the latest in a string of linkups for Oberst and Bridgers: first via their 2019 project Better Oblivion Community Center, then on Bridgers’s apocalyptic anthem “I Know the End,†which also features Bright Eyes’s Nate Walcott on horns. Maybe one day they’ll get to make some music that’s hopeful?