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Personal Record
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  • Release Date:
Personal Record Image
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 11 Ratings

  • Summary: The second solo release for the indie pop singer, who is one half of The Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew, was co-written with songwriter Wesley Stace (a.k.a. John Wesley Harding) and produced by Eric Broucek.
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  • Record Label: Merge
  • Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 5, 2013
    90
    With Personal Record, Eleanor commits even more strongly to straightforward, sentimental, and concise songcraft.
  2. Paste Magazine
    Jun 4, 2013
    83
    If Last Summer shut the door on Friedberger’s former knack for erratic musicianship and off-the-cuff arrangements, Personal Record slides the bolt firmly in place.
  3. AllMusic
    Jun 4, 2013
    80
    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.
  4. Blurt Magazine
    Jul 3, 2013
    80
    An album full of fresh twists and turns, musically and lyrically, and a song cycle full of melody and surprise.
  5. DIY Magazine
    Jun 10, 2013
    70
    The universal themes and her way to create tales that draw you in, make for an album that’s more emotionally resonant than her debut.
  6. cokemachineglow
    Jun 21, 2013
    70
    Personal Record doesn’t always have the focus and sense of place that made Last Summer great, but it’s pop music on a grander scale, both in sound and theme.
  7. No Ripcord
    Jul 1, 2013
    40
    What we have here is an album’s worth of incredibly passive, indifferent music-making.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. jyo_tirmaya
    Dec 8, 2013
    9
    Eleanor Friedberger gives us a nice breeze of indie-pop perfection. Somehow, without her group The Fiery Furnaces, she rocks with a more easyEleanor Friedberger gives us a nice breeze of indie-pop perfection. Somehow, without her group The Fiery Furnaces, she rocks with a more easy freedom. It's very pleasant as it doesn't sound forced as even some of The Fiery Furnaces albums did. These are the kinds of songs that I am looking for big stars like Katy Perry to be writing, but instead they are writing as though they are little girls still in high school. And I'm supposed to be excited by a possible romance between Katy and some other superstar singer. I don't want news of romances and blase music. I just want good music written and sung nicely as Eleanor does on this album.… Expand
  2. malchickles
    Jun 6, 2013
    8
    Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah,Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, it's good.… Expand