Albertine (album)
| Albertine | ||||
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| Studio album by Brooke Fraser | ||||
| Released | 4 December 2006 (see release history) | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
| Genre | Pop, Folk | |||
| Length | 45:26 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Marshall Altman | |||
| Brooke Fraser chronology | ||||
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| Deluxe Edition cover | ||||
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| Singles from Albertine | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Christian Broadcasting Network | |
| Christianity Today | |
| Cross Rhythms |  |
| Glide Magazine | |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | |
| Melodic.net | |
| New Release Tuesday | |
| PopMatters | 6/10 |
| Soul Shine Magazine | |
Albertine is the second album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Brooke Fraser. It was released in New Zealand and in the Oceanic region's iTunes Store on 4 December 2006. The album was released in Australia on 31 March 2007, where it peaked at No. 29. The album's lead single is "Deciphering Me". The follow-up single is "Shadowfeet" – a piano-driven ballad released in January 2007. Albertine became Fraser's second No. 1 album, and she became the only second New Zealand artist in history to have a consecutive album release and have it debut at the No. 1 position on the New Zealand album charts. The first was by Blindspott with their album End the Silence earlier in the same year.
A deluxe edition was released on 10 December; a year after the original release. The deluxe version features a bonus CD of eight live recordings (including a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence"), an entirely new booklet and double gatefold digipack packaging. "C.S. Lewis Song" was released as a radio single to promote this re-release.
Albertine was also Brooke's US debut, released 27 May 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 90 on 19 July 2008.
Albertine was also picked as an "Editor's Music Choice" on iTunes USA which helped propel the album into the Top 10.
In 2005, Fraser travelled to Rwanda for World Vision. There she met Albertine, a Rwandan girl orphaned by the 1994 genocide. Fraser described the girl as "tall and beautiful".
Albertine garnered critical acclaim from ten music critics ratings. Greg Prato from Allmusic said that "there's nothing all that musically groundbreaking that would make Albertine stick out from the rest of the pack. That said, as her first [United States] release, Albertine does indeed show great promise". Andree Farias from Christianity Today said that "Albertine proves it is possible to strike the perfect balance between art and faith, while still remaining accessible to both sides of the Christian-mainstream divide." Jesus Freak Hideout's David Goodman described Albertine as "one of the most brilliantly expressive and musically well-crafted albums of its kind." Mike Schiller from PopMatters stated that "[Fraser's] songs do have a tendency to blur [the boundary between church and popular art] together, with the occasional beautiful, touching piece that grabs hold of all of the right nerves and doesn't let go".The Southern Cross identified Albertine as "the kind of album that after repeated listening quietly creeps up on the listener with its hypnotic beauty, sense of peace and genuine soul."
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