Eleanor Friedberger - New View
Critic Score
Based on 28 reviews
2016 Ratings: #268 / 1004
User Score
Based on 90 ratings
2016 Rank: #481
Liked by 2 people
January 22, 2016 / Release Date
LP / Format
- / Label
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

91
Entertainment Weekly

The result is Friedberger’s most conventional-sounding rock record, and that’s a compliment: without any high-concept noise to distract her, New View focuses on her rich voice and her remarkable ability to turn a phrase.

90
Uncut

It’s comforting and surprising, full of trad sounds electrified by the off-kilter vision of an artist whose recognition as one of Americana’s finest voices is long overdue.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

No, New View isn’t the crowning jewel in Friedberger’s catalogue, but it is a beautiful, unadorned meditation on life’s most delicate mysteries: potential, narrative, and the passage of time.

80
Rolling Stone

It's a perfect vocal vibe for music that can recall the very late Beatles and New Morning-era Dylan, but ultimately evokes nothing so much as what might happen if the cover art from Van Morrison's Veedon Fleece had a weekend fling with the cover art from Yo La Tengo's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out.

80
NOW Magazine
A little rough around the edges, the album is pleasantly calm while simultaneously tapping into anxieties in its lyrics.
80
The Guardian
Friedberger’s offbeat delivery and lyrical quirks ... seem to balance nicely with this straightening out of the musical backdrop.
80
Exclaim!

Press materials for the record cite ubiquitous influences like Neil Young, George Harrison and Van Morrison, and while in most cases that might be cause for concern, New View is a lush and beautiful record that stands comfortably in such heady company.

80
The Skinny

New View is a warm and rustic listen, Friedberger dressing sharply drawn narratives in a classic folk sound that makes the album as cosy as an old jumper.

80
PopMatters

New View is best appreciated with a deep and unhurried engagement, as the full album in full fidelity offers many distinctive pleasures.

78
Pitchfork

Even if New View’s overall aesthetic may pair nicely with your laziest summer Sunday morning, there’s an undercurrent of serious melancholia in Friedberger’s writing here, setting it apart tonally from her previous two records.

75
A.V. Club

It’s keenly observed, totally genuine, and eminently listenable, though one can’t help but miss the choppy energy and anxious undercurrents of Personal Record.

72
Sputnikmusic

You almost wish Friedberger would unleash more of that nervous energy that sometimes overwhelmed Personal Record, but with a record as lovingly crafted as New View, it would be wrong to ignore what remains: a songwriter with as distinct a voice as anyone in indie.

70
Clash
While ‘New View’ is not especially novel, it still has some fine songs at its core.
70
Under the Radar

It's a more subdued record in general, with the exception of the sudden bursts of Crazy Horse-like guitar stabs. She's also less compelled towards barrages of sing-speak lyrics than she was in the past, letting her alto deliver what might be her most even album to date.

70
AllMusic

New View's warm, reassuring atmosphere is a perfect fit for Friedberger's affably rambling songwriting.

70
Tiny Mix Tapes
By living in the present, unclear moment, Friedberger delivers a set of feel-good pop music about feeling, well, I don’t know, okay I guess? Her old-school pomp is fresh, but it betrays a song cycle that mimics the sentimentality of downer records while actually kind of being about the start of something new.
70
Drowned in Sound

While New View may be musically somewhat muted, sonically a touch predictable and backward-looking, Friedberger still crafts utterly charming songs with brilliantly observed moments and a real sense of life’s great adventure.

60
DIY
'‘New View’ breathes vast open spaces, cool poise and easy confidence of someone comfortable in their own musical skin.
60
musicOMH

New View .. is nothing less – but little more – than a continuation of the work begun over Friedberger’s first solo albums.

58
Consequence of Sound

The album’s weaknesses aren’t unforgivable; they just too frequently sound limp and over-saturated in storied traditions. The verve and unpredictability that so frequently fueled her songs are lost and sorely missed.

lerkenfeldt
66

Favorite moments: He Didn't Mention His Mother, Open Season.

75

The third solo album of American musician, she dated previously Britt Daniel from Spoon ;-). The favorite song is the first one - Never Is A Long Time.

Sinestroll
92

★★★★★: He Didn't Mention His Mother • Sweetest Girl • Cathy with the Curly Hair

Purchasing New View from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?


Added on: October 29, 2015