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Stranger in the Alps
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2017
StudioZeitgeist, Los Angeles, CA
Genre
Length44:15
LabelDead Oceans
Producer
Phoebe Bridgers chronology
Killer
(2015)
Stranger in the Alps
(2017)
Boygenius
(2018)
Singles from Stranger in the Alps
  1. "Killer"
    Released: April 28, 2015
  2. "Smoke Signals"
    Released: January 9, 2017
  3. "Motion Sickness"
    Released: July 18, 2017
  4. "Funeral"
    Released: September 12, 2017

Stranger in the Alps is the debut studio album by American musician Phoebe Bridgers, released on September 22, 2017 by Dead Oceans.

Background and recording[edit]

Stranger in the Alps was produced by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska.[1] Bridgers recorded the album in between tours over 2016 at Berg's studio in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[2] The album's title is a reference to the edited-for-TV version of the film The Big Lebowski, which changed Walter Sobchak's (played by John Goodman) 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?"[3] Bridgers opted to use the phrase because she found it to be "kind of poetic on accident".[4]

Bridgers signed a recording contract with Dead Oceans in June 2017,[5] and the album was scheduled for release on September 22.[6] The album received a limited edition 5th anniversary galaxy colored vinyl pressing on September 22, 2022.[7]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[8]
Metacritic82/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The A.V. ClubA[11]
Consequence of SoundA−[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
The Irish Times[14]
Mojo[15]
NME[16]
Pitchfork7.0/10[17]
Q[18]
Uncut6/10[19]

Stranger in the Alps received acclaim from critics; review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a weighted average score of 82/100 based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]

Josh Modell of The A.V. Club 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."[11] Writing for Pitchfork, 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 [that] sounds best when she double-tracks it in layers of light falsetto", rating the album 7.0/10.[17]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Smoke Signals"
5:24
2."Motion Sickness"
  • Bridgers
  • Vore
3:49
3."Funeral"Bridgers3:52
4."Demi Moore"
  • Bridgers
  • Vore
  • Harrison Whitford
3:18
5."Scott Street"
  • Bridgers
  • Vore
5:05
6."Killer"Bridgers3:09
7."Georgia"Bridgers4:07
8."Chelsea"Bridgers4:42
9."Would You Rather"
3:19
10."You Missed My Heart"6:57
11."Smoke Signals (Reprise)"
  • Bridgers
  • Vore
0:33
Total length:44:15
Deluxe digital reissue[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."It'll All Work Out"Tom Petty2:46
13."Motion Sickness" (demo)
  • Bridgers
  • Vore
4:24
Total length:51:25

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[21]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Stranger in the Alps
Chart (2017–2022) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 97
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[23] 5
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[24] 84
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[25] 23
US Billboard 200[26] 82
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[27] 13
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[28] 6
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[29] 13
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 10
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[31] 4

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Stranger in the Alps
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 60,000
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Trefor 2018.
  2. ^ Anon. 2017b.
  3. ^ Cosores 2017.
  4. ^ Meredith 2017; Bridgers 2017.
  5. ^ Sacher 2017.
  6. ^ Anon. 2017a.
  7. ^ Anon.(a) n.d.
  8. ^ a b Anon.(b) n.d.
  9. ^ Anon.(c) n.d.
  10. ^ Monger n.d.
  11. ^ a b Modell 2017.
  12. ^ Bloom 2017.
  13. ^ Gee 2017.
  14. ^ Breen 2017.
  15. ^ JB 2017.
  16. ^ Cooper 2017.
  17. ^ a b Sodomsky 2017.
  18. ^ Barton 2017.
  19. ^ Wallace 2017.
  20. ^ Anon. 2018.
  21. ^ Dead Oceans 2017.
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  23. ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  24. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  25. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 - 29 September 2017". Official Charts. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  26. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  27. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  29. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  30. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  31. ^ "Phoebe Bridgers Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger in the Alps". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Phoebe Bridgers – Stranger in the Alps". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 23, 2024.

References[edit]

  • Dead Oceans (2017). Stranger in the Alps (Vinyl liner notes). Phoebe Bridgers (artist). DOC142.