Phoebe Bridgers is known for being a typically sad artist, which is a hit or miss for some people. Personally, I love Phoebe Bridgers for her brilliant lyrics, soft voice, and moving instrumentals. Her genre is a kind of indie, alternative folk-rock. Stranger in the Alps focuses on relationships and emotions.
Stranger in the Alps is Phoebe’s first studio album, and was released in 2017. It starts with “Smoke Signals”, a song that begins with a soft-playing small string bass, and features quieter vocals. This is a soft song with powerful lyrics about childhood and someone you love figuratively looking for you when you feel lost or aren’t “present”. This song reminds me of a rainy day or a gloomy beach, and perfectly emulates sad PNW vibes. If you fall asleep to the Twin Peaks theme song every night, “Smoke Signals” is for you.
“Motion Sickness”, a single off the album, with a funky, muted guitar and indie-rock sounds. It’s about being emotionally overwhelmed and according to Bridgers, “being in love with someone who’s super mean to you”. During the chorus of “Motion Sickness”, it says “I have emotional motion sickness/ Somebody roll the windows down”. There’s a breezy “everything’s going wrong but that’s okay” feel to the studio version of this song, though her Tiny Desk Concert version expresses deeper feelings of heartbreak and regret, showcasing her powerful vocals. This is one of Bridgers’ more well-known tracks, and for good reason. Everything about this song is utterly entrancing.
Track three is my personal favorite off the album: “Funeral”. This song is just about as cheerful as you’d expect, with gloomy lyrics about the funeral of someone close to her age, and struggling with depression. “Funeral” is one of the best acoustic “sad songs” out there, and is incredibly well-written and structured. This song emphasizes the resignation of sadness, and grief just being a part of life. Some might know this song from a heart-wrenching scene in Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, while the OG’s just know it’s a banger of a song, along with the rest of this damn album. The chorus says, “Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all the time/ And that’s just how I feel”, summing up the general vibe of the track. I would sell my kidney to see this song live.
“Funeral” follows with “Demi Moore”, a song that starts out with UFO-like sound effects, setting it apart from the rest of the album, as it’s quite instrumentally different. Some soft banjo even plays in some places, adding to the chill, unseriousness of it all. The song is funky and low-key, with a kind of quiet personality. It doesn’t seem to be asking for much, and it’s just kind of there; the ones that get it, get it. “Demi Moore” isn’t quite upbeat, but has kind of a floating, romanticized feel.
Track five is another one of my favorites. “Scott Street” has a strong acoustic guitar, and sticks out as a louder track on the album. It sings about going back to a place and person after you’ve changed or left. “Scott Street” screams nostalgia. In the last third of this song, more instruments and vocals build up in the background as Bridgers sings “Anyway, don’t be a stranger”.
“Killer” has soft piano chords and chilling lyrics about death, murder, and old age. It’s very mellow and vulnerable, admitting a fear that the narrator isn’t a good person. When it hits the chorus, a male voice sings alongside Phoebe, adding to the mystery and feel of “Killer”.
“Georgia” is beautiful and haunting: sung with a soft and playful, yet fragile tone, with whistly and prominent background vocals. When I asked a friend to describe the feel and tone of “Georgia”, she said that it perfectly fits the album cover.
“Chelsea” is a slow song reminiscent of a lullaby. Many famous names including poets Dylan Thomas and Leonard Cohen historically resided in New York’s Chelsea Hotel, which the song is about. Bridgers later wrote songs about Thomas and Cohen with her other bands, Better Oblivion Community Center and boygenius, which is why “Chelsea” seems like it’s foreshadowing Phoebe’s later work or predicting the future, holding a special place in the heart of fans….
The beginning of “Would You Rather” sounds similar to Scott Street. This song is more on the alternative singer/songwriter side and is another one of the louder songs on Stranger in the Alps. Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes sings every other lyric in the chorus, bringing an edge to this track with his unique, slightly angsty rasp. I love the strumming acoustic guitar, the subtle violin, and the vocal tone of “Would You Rather”. This song is truly on another level, making it difficult to describe because it’s just so good. The lyrics and instruments go so well together, it’s like each element is an essential part of a well-oiled machine.
Track ten, “You Missed My Heart” has calm and flowing piano, reminding listeners of a waterfall. Bridgers sings about different scenarios where someone gets hurt, but not badly enough to leave or figuratively die. I love this song for its deep meaning and storytelling. Interestingly enough, “You Missed My Heart” wasn’t written by Phoebe Bridgers, which surprised me because it fits so well into her album and style. It was originally composed by Jimmy LaValle and Mark Kozelek, and first appeared on Mark Kozelek’s 2013 album Live at Phoenix Public House Melbourne.
I love Stranger in the Alps, and I think very few artists compare to the skill and songwriting of Phoebe Bridgers. If you’re searching for a calm, melancholy alternative album, Stranger in the Alps is for you.
