''Stranger in the Alps'' is the debut studio album by American musician

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter. Her indie folk music typically centers on acoustic guitar and Electronic music, electronic production, with melancholic lyrical themes. She has won four Grammy Aw ...

, released on September 22, 2017 by Dead Oceans.

Background and recording

''Stranger in the Alps'' was produced by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. Bridgers recorded the album in between tours over 2016 at Berg's studio in Brentwood, Los Angeles. The album's title is a reference to the edited-for-TV version of the film '' The Big Lebowski'', which changed Walter Sobchak's (

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...

) line "Do you see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass?" to "Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?" Bridgers opted to use the phrase because she found it to be "kind of poetic on accident". Bridgers signed a recording contract with Dead Oceans in June 2017, and the album was scheduled for release on September 22. The album received a limited edition 5th anniversary galaxy colored vinyl pressing on September 22, 2022.

Music and lyrics

''Stranger in the Alps'' is described as "a collection of sad folk songs, presented with nifty sonic accoutrements and clever references that give them added dimension." The album incorporates

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

and electro-

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

. The album's lyrics contain references to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys b ...

Critical reception

''Stranger in the Alps'' received acclaim from critics; review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the album a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 82/100 based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Josh Modell of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the album a perfect score, saying, "''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." Writing for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', Sam Sodomsky said that the album is "a collection of songs about intimacy, documenting how our relationships affect the way we view ourselves and interact with others... Bridgers' voice has a breezy, conversational flutter

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

sounds best when she double-tracks it in layers of light falsetto", rating the album 7.0/10. Ben Salmon of ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

'' wrote: "Bridgers’s plainspoken lyrics and airy, inescapable melodies that make ''Alps'' not just one of 2017’s best debuts, but also one of that year’s (and this decade’s) best albums by anyone at any stage of their career. At 23-years-old, she already has a masterpiece under her belt."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. Musicians *

– vocals, guitar, banjo * Tony Berg – guitar, keyboards *

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– vocals * Ethan Gruska – keyboards, piano, drums, percussion, drum programming, guitar, bass, baritone guitar, bandura, jet engine, "that incessant toe tapping" * Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar * Rob Moose – strings * Gabe Noel – cello, bass * Conor Oberst – vocals * Daniel Rhine – upright bass * Gabe Witcher – violin * Marshall Vore – drums, percussion, vocals * Harrison Whitford – guitar Production * Tony Berg – production, recording * Ethan Gruska – production *

Mike Mogis Mike Mogis is an American producer/mixer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who owns ARC Studios (Another Recording Company) in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Mike, along with his brother A. J. Mogis, A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Stud ...

– mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

– mastering * Rob Moose – string arrangement Artwork * Angela Deane – artwork * Elaine Gandola – photography * Frank W. Ockenfels III – photography * Bridgers' mother – photography * Nathaniel David Utesch – layout

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut albums Phoebe Bridgers albums Dead Oceans albums Albums produced by Tony Berg