Personal Record is the second solo album released by American indie pop musician Eleanor Friedberger, most notable for being vocalist in the band The Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew Friedberger. The album was released on 4 June 2013 on the Merge Records label.[1][2] The album was co-written by Friedberger and folk singer and novelist John Wesley Harding.[3]
| Personal Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 4, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | October 2012 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 46:12 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Producer | Eric Broucek | |||
| Eleanor Friedberger chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound |   [5] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |   [6] |
| Paste Magazine | 8.3/10[7] |
| Allmusic | [8] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[9] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.1/10[3] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [10] |
The album received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, which indicates "generally favorable reviews," based on 16 reviews.[4] Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork Media praised the "tight, buoyant pop arrangements" and wrote that "very few [indie rock songwriters] are writing with half the precision, wit, and cool poise that Friedberger displays here."[3] Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote that "even if the album is more comforting than exciting, it's still an enjoyable portrait of Friedberger's artistry: warm, genuine, and a little mischievous."[8] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Randall Roberts called the lyrics "odd" and the album itself "wonderfully askew," but said that though the album is not immediately gratifying, it is "a challenge worth taking."[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Don't Want to Bother You" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "When I Knew" | 3:45 |
| 3. | "I'll Never Be Happy Again" | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Stare at the Sun" | 2:56 |
| 5. | "Echo or Encore" | 4:50 |
| 6. | "My Own World" | 3:37 |
| 7. | "Tomorrow Tomorrow" | 3:20 |
| 8. | "You'll Never Know Me" | 3:24 |
| 9. | "I Am the Past" | 3:27 |
| 10. | "She's a Mirror" | 3:46 |
| 11. | "Other Boys" | 6:06 |
| 12. | "Singing Time" | 3:46 |
References
edit- ^ "Merge Records: Personal Record official album page". Merge Records. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ "Pitchfork Announcement". Pitchfork Media. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Zoladz, Lindsay (2013-06-05). "Album Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
- ^ a b "Personal Record Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ Kivel, Adam (Jun 4, 2013). "Album Review: Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved Jun 5, 2013.
- ^ "Eleanor Friedberger - Personal Record". Tinymixtapes.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ Danaher, Michael (2013-06-03). "Album Review". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Personal Record". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ Pan, Arnold (2013-06-04). "Album Review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
- ^ a b Roberts, Randall (2013-06-04). "Review: Eleanor Friedberger's 'Personal Record' is wonderfully askew". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2013-06-12.