Phoebe Bridgers for Dummies

Perhaps you’ve just met a pretty brunette with bangs who carries a tote bag that you’d like to go on a date with. Maybe you’d like to give depression a try– or maybe you already have depression but you’d like to take it to a new level. Maybe you’ve listened to her jolly hit Kyoto and want to groove to more headbanging travel songs. No matter who you are, we’re sorry you’ve found yourself in this position, and we hate to be the ones to convert you to this both nihilist and existentialist lifestyle. Because that’s what listening to Phoebe Bridgers is – a lifestyle. Welcome to the dark side. 

Phoebe is a Los Angeles native who grew up surrounded by music and started playing around town in her early teenage years. She attended LACHSA, a performing arts high school, where she received notoriously bad marks, but had the opportunity to learn about music production, musical technique, songwriting, and performance. Although she was accepted to Berklee College of Music, Bridgers decided she wasn’t interested in four more years of performing arts school and decided to make it big on her own. So she did– using the money she earned from doing commercials and playing any show she could get, she wrote and produced her first studio album, Stranger in the Alps. The album was a hit in the indie music scene and allowed her to tour around the United States. Since the release of Stranger in the Alps in 2017, Phoebe has collaborated with major indie artists such as Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus, Conor Oberst, Maggie Rogers, MUNA, Kid Cudi, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Killers, Marcus Mumford, Lorde, and Clairo. Perhaps her most famous work comes from her sophomore album, Punisher, which received massive critical success in the midst of the pandemic and earned her four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. 

Phoebe’s rise to fame hasn’t gotten in the way of her unwavering spunk, dedication to the importance of independent art, or her down-to-earth nature. Phoebe has used her platform to raise money for many underserved communities and is very outspoken about the importance of BIPOC, women’s, and queer rights. She’s started her own record label, Saddest Factory, under Dead Oceans, where she’s succeeded in being a “cool boss” and supported her signees as they’ve risen to international acclaim. 

Phoebe’s music is about yearning – for peace, for love, for death, for life, for a break, for answers. Her songs often say what you don’t want to hear underneath a haze of meticulous fingerpicking, tinkly piano, and quietly tapped cymbals which usually build into a sonic climax so carefully designed you often don’t realize what you’ve experienced until it’s over. Her sound is magical, dynamic, and classic all at the same time. As you listen to her songs, listen to the lyrics like you read a book for an English literature class. Parse out each word and see the dedication and brilliance of her songwriting. Phoebe Bridgers is a musical mastermind – her force as a writer, creator, and leader in the industry will be echoed for generations to come.