Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Feb 5, 2016The result is Friedberger’s most conventional-sounding rock record, and that’s a compliment: without any high-concept noise to distract her, New View focuses on her rich voice and her remarkable ability to turn a phrase.
-
UncutJan 7, 2016It's comforting and surprising, full of trad sounds electrified by the off-kilter vision of an artist whose recognition as one of Americana's finest voices is long overdue. [Feb 2016, p.67]
-
Jan 25, 2016New View isn’t the crowning jewel in Friedberger’s catalogue, but it is a beautiful, unadorned meditation on life’s most delicate mysteries: potential, narrative, and the passage of time.
-
Feb 10, 2016A little rough around the edges, the album is pleasantly calm while simultaneously tapping into anxieties in its lyrics.
-
Feb 1, 2016While the musical performances are expert, the real appeal of the record lies with Friedberger.
-
Jan 26, 2016Just when it all seems familiar, you're struck by a specific detail and realise you’ve started to smile.
-
Jan 26, 2016Like avowed influences Van Morrison and Neil Young, Friedberger on New View travels in fluid, seamless melodies, and uses them in service of lyrics that revel in poeticism.
-
Jan 25, 2016Friedberger picks over love and relationships in ways that keep you guessing: strange flights of fancy are balanced by offbeat humour and there are startling moments of emotional directness that bring you up short.
-
Jan 22, 2016Subtle hints at emotional undercurrents enhance the potency of Friedberger’s lyrics.
-
Jan 22, 2016The Chicago-bred singer-guitarist works one of rock's finest faux-British accents, sounding like an early-Seventies prog-folkie. It's a perfect vocal vibe for music that can recall the very late Beatles and New Morning-era Dylan.
-
Jan 21, 2016Friedberger’s offbeat delivery and lyrical quirks seem to balance nicely with this straightening out of the musical backdrop. New View is about a new home in more ways than one, then.
-
Jan 20, 2016New View is a lush and beautiful record that stands comfortably in such heady company.
-
Jan 19, 2016New View is best appreciated with a deep and unhurried engagement, as the full album in full fidelity offers many distinctive pleasures.
-
MojoJan 11, 2016New View furthers Friedberger's quest to declutter, finding great pop and occasional profundity in getting to the point and letting her tunes ring clear. [Feb 2016, p.92]
-
Q MagazineJan 7, 2016New View, the follow-up to 2013's Personal Record, shares that persistent quality, setting up home in the corner of your head after the briefest acquaintance. [Feb 2016, p.110]
-
Mar 17, 2016Free of the confines of the band that made her famous, Friedberger flourishes.
-
Jan 20, 2016At times New View can seem like a concept record detailing Friedberger's ambivalence about her main gift: spinning fragile memories and feelings into accessible songs.
-
Jan 22, 2016It’s keenly observed, totally genuine, and eminently listenable, though one can’t help but miss the choppy energy and anxious undercurrents of Personal Record. Maybe comfort-zone types work best in tight spots.
-
Jan 28, 2016You almost wish Friedberger would unleash more of that nervous energy that sometimes overwhelmed Personal Record, but with a record as lovingly crafted as New View, it would be wrong to ignore what remains: a songwriter with as distinct a voice as anyone in indie.
-
Jan 27, 2016As on Personal Record, New View's warm, reassuring atmosphere is a perfect fit for Friedberger's affably rambling songwriting; the album is even bookended by songs about long walks, and at its best, it sounds like a conversation sweetened by music.
-
Jan 21, 2016While New View may be musically somewhat muted, sonically a touch predictable and backward-looking, Friedberger still crafts utterly charming songs with brilliantly observed moments and a real sense of life’s great adventure.
-
Jan 20, 2016Rather than going full-on honeymoon or dead-end breakup, New View treads a middle ground that would border on the mundane were it not for Friedberger’s own headstrong presence, a matter-of-fact reading that gives the potentially uncomfortable tension of the lyrics a healthy dollop of confidence.
-
Jan 19, 2016While New View is not especially novel, it still has some fine songs at its core.
-
Jan 11, 2016Warm guitar and melted Wurlitzer electric piano help Friedberger's songs breathe and stretch into occasional instrumental bridges and codas. It's a more subdued record in general.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 15 out of 20
-
Mixed: 4 out of 20
-
Negative: 1 out of 20
-
Dec 7, 2016------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Jan 22, 2016