Stranger in the Alps

Stranger in the Alps was produced by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. Bridgers recorded the album in between tours over 2016 at Berg's studio in Brentwood, Los Angeles.] The album's title is a reference to the edited-for-TV version of the film The Big Lebowski, which changed Walter Sobchak's (John Goodman) line "Do you see what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass?" to "Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?" Bridgers opted to use the phrase because she found it to be "kind of poetic on accident".

Bridgers signed a recording contract with Dead Oceans in June 2017, and the album was scheduled for release on September 22. The album received a limited edition 5th anniversary galaxy colored vinyl pressing on September 22, 2022.