Earlier this month, Phoebe Bridgers launched her very own record label called Saddest Factory, and today she’s announced the imprint’s inaugural signing. The Brooklyn indie pop musician Claud (they/them) is the first artist on the roster, and they’re kicking off the partnership with a new song called “Gold”. Bridgers previously said that her vision for the Dead Oceans imprint is “good songs, regardless of genre”, and “Gold” definitely qualifies. Previous Claud tracks like “Wish You Were Gay” (not to be confused with the Billie Eilish tune) and “If I Were You” were more outwardly melodic and brisk, but “Gold” has has a resigned haziness to it. Claud’s frustration with the ending of a relationship comes through not just in their fatigued vocal delivery, but also the misty harmonies and ...
That dream comes to fruition today with the launch of Bridgers’ own Dead Oceans imprint, Saddest Factory. The name is a tongue-in-cheek mispronunciation of the word “satisfactory” — which also happens to be a term used frequently in record deals — that was originally made on Twitter by her former Sloppy Jane bandmate Haley Dahl. “It’s always been a dream of mine to have a label, because I’m also such a music fan,” says Bridgers. She says she has been essentially pitching artists to Dead Oceans for years, and finally decided to ask Secretly for a label of her own when indie band Bright Eyes announced their signing to Dead Oceans in February — a deal that came together after Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst and Bridgers formed the indie-rock du...