Phoebe Bridgers has had a fruitful three years since ripping our collective hearts out on her debut solo record Stranger in the Alps (via Dead Oceans Records). Though it took a couple years for it to cross my radar, I had the same first impression I imagine most have in listening to Bridgers—awe, respect, and utter devastation. Her unique blend of clever, confessional, and often tragic lyricism; her unapologetic, indie rock sensibility; and her intimate, Judee Sill-esque vocal delivery, combine to establish her as a darling of the Indie Folk genre and, at just 26 years old, as one of America’s premiere, young songwriters.
In addition to now having two acclaimed solo records under her belt, her collaborations with: Conor Oberst in Better Oblivion Community Center, Lord Huron, and in the supergroup boygenius with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, have proven her creative gait to be ever widening. As of Monday morning, Bridgers has taken that adaptability a step further by announcing the formation of her own label, Saddest Factory, in partnership with Dead Oceans Records where she is signed.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have a label, because I’m also such a music fan,” she told Billboard. Saddest Factory fulfills that dream and offers her the opportunity to promote new artists and act as the advisor she always wished she’d had. Like Jack White’s Third Man Records, Saddest Factory will be non genre specific with the only artist qualification being that Bridgers enjoys the music. “If I like it and I listen to it for pleasure, then other people will like it and listen to it for pleasure. I don’t think I have any other ethos than, ‘am I jealous?’”
With the upcoming announcement of Saddest Factory’s first artist signing, Phoebe Bridgers, musical wunderkind turned record exec, continues to be a much needed breath of fresh—albeit heart wrenching —air.
