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
. Barely 23 and already earning accolades from the likes of
Ryan Adams
John Doe
Conor Oberst
, the latter two of whom lend their voices to a couple of tracks,
Bridgers
is an old soul, but one with a flair for capturing the myopic melodrama of youth. Her keen eye for detail and dulcet voice make for a lethal pairing, delivering lines like "I hope you kiss my rotten head and pull the plug/know that I've burned every playlist and given all my love" with alarming sweetness. Front-loaded with a trio of deceptively powerful singles ("Smoke Signals," "Motion Sickness," and "Funeral"), the ten-track set loses some focus near the end, but
remains such a compelling presence throughout, that even her less immediate material bears weight. ~ James Christopher Monger