BLACK VINYL

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, and 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 Bridgers remains such a compelling presence throughout, that even her less immediate material bears weight.

A1        Smoke Signals
A2        Motion Sickness
A3        Funeral
A4        Demi Moore
A5        Scott Street
B1        Killer
B2        Georgia
B3        Chelsea
B4        Would You Rather
B5        You Missed My Heart