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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Like the best sad-bastard music, Stranger In The Alps alchemizes sorrow into redemptive beauty. It’s never about wallowing, but about slowly moving through it. That difference, played out over some incredible, wise-beyond-her-years songwriting, makes it one of the best albums of the year.
91
It’s a gentle, wistful, even mournful record that makes for an outstanding coming-out party for Bridgers and a haunting experience for the listener, with melodies and sentiments that linger, softly and poignantly, long after the music ends.
90
Phoebe Bridgers is a 23 year old LA-based songwriter who early collaborator Ryan Adams has already compared to Bob Dylan and while that’s undoubtedly hyperbole at the moment, Stranger In The Alps is certainly one of those records that seem destined to herald a long-lasting career.
90
The gripping tension between vulnerability and courage on Los Angeles musician Phoebe Bridgers' debut album, Stranger in the Alps, is something that usually takes singer-songwriters numerous attempts to achieve — if ever.
85
The delicate ferocity of her voice and kick of lyrical angst rightfully place Bridgers in the same realm as revered artists Julia Jacklin and Angel Olsen.
80
The record is a stunning achievement, and one that heralds the arrival of a major talent, undoubtedly in it for the long haul. Even more importantly, it feels special in an intangible way that I’m at something of a loss to explain.
80
Her voice, rich in vulnerability and attitude, commands this edgy, deeply personal landscape.
80
Across these songs, Bridgers manages an unusual marriage of delicacy and lo-fi wit, and it's a union that has led her to quietly make one of the albums of the year.
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1y
80
An effortless, emotive landscape throughout, Bridgers manages to tug at your heartstrings while giving you the ability to accept your fate.
80
‘Stranger in the Alps’ is as accomplished a solo debut as you’ll hear all year - a quietly devastating listen worthy of Phoebe Bridgers’ obvious influences.
80
‘Strangers In The Alps’ is definitely album for the sad times. Get ready to embrace the tears.
78
Whether she’s touching on the impact of losing a legend like Bowie or battling her own demons, Strangers in the Alps is a vibrant and rare debut that’s not afraid to tell it how it is.
75
She has proven that her sweet and somber storytelling can stand its own ground.
70
Stranger in the Alps contains enough glimmers of talent that it’s easy to believe once she’s seen a bit more of the world and done a bit more as an artist, she will return with a stronger second effort.
70
The debut long-player from the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, Stranger in the Alps is a candid, wry, death-obsessed, and altogether transfixing collection of ruminative indie-folk confections that invoke names like Elliott Smith, Jenny Lewis, Laura Marling, Julien Baker, and Lisa Germano.
70
The span of time these songs cover can make Stranger in the Alps feel overwhelming and occasionally incohesive. Playing it from front to back comes with the intensity of scrolling all the way through someone’s Facebook photos.
60
Equal parts Mary Lou Lord and Margo Timmins, Bridgers is someone finding her way, trying things out, rarely settling for easy when something more is called for.
60
Throughout, her lyrics betray a convincing world-weariness.
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1y
Stranger in the Alps is a really dark, yet sweet folk debut from Phoebe Bridgers. This is my first album from her, and I am quite happy with it. The production and mixing is stunning, and she puts a ton of care into making sure these songs sound heavenly. The songs are all very sonically consistent, and engaging for the most part.
This album does suffer from a couple of things. It is frontloaded. The best songs are at the start, and it slowly starts to sound like an amateurish folk album by ... read more
Diving deep into an uncanny realm of ethereal indie-folk, headfirst into an otherworldly atmosphere that is then so expertly weaved all-throughout its ten-track runtime (eleven-track, if we count the 33-second reprise that cyclically caps the experience), Bridgers' 'Stranger in the Alps' is a (borderline) unparalleled debut that's ghostly guitar-driven balladic ambiance tells somber tales of love and loss, life and death, and all the complex and awkward intricacies that define what it means to ... read more
Stranger in the Alps é uma mistura de folk rock com indie que combina muito bem. Phoebe Bridges entrega performances vocais belas, além de letras sombrias e melancólicas, dando a sensação de um álbum que você deve ouvir em um dia chuvoso e triste em casa. É uma obra interessante e que começa de maneira belíssima e que ao longo das faixas perde um pouco de sua potência, o que não incomoda em nada, já que as ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Smoke Signals 5:24 | 91 |
| 2 | Motion Sickness 3:49 | 93 |
| 3 | Funeral 3:52 | 91 |
| 4 | Demi Moore 3:18 | 84 |
| 5 | Scott Street 5:05 | 92 |
| 6 | Killer 3:09 | 84 |
| 7 | Georgia 4:07 | 86 |
| 8 | Chelsea 4:42 | 78 |
| 9 | Would You Rather 3:19 | 81 |
| 10 | You Missed My Heart 6:57 | 85 |
| 11 | Smoke Signals (Reprise) 0:33 | 77 |
Total Length: 44 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
| #3 | / | The Wild Honey Pie |
| #6 | / | musicOMH |
| #7 | / | The Sunday Times |
| #9 | / | Bandcamp Daily |
| #10 | / | BBC Radio 6 Music |
| #11 | / | BrooklynVegan |
| #13 | / | Sputnikmusic |
| #14 | / | Norman Records |
| #17 | / | The Skinny |
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7mo
funeral is one of the most raw and bleeding, painful songs ive ever heard i am NOT okay
7mo
oh my god this is FINALLY clicking for me…ive listened to this like 4 times and never fully vibed, but dude i am WITH IT.
11mo
The only valid way to enjoy Scott Street is to listen to it from the very beginning and let the ending hit you, no "sped up" or "slowed + reverb"
Added on: September 16, 2017