Good in the Face of a Stranger is the fifth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by Australian rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 musician Alex Lloyd

Alex Lloyd

Alex Lloyd is an Australian singer-songwriter. His most popular album Watching Angels Mend, which includes the songs "Amazing" and "Green", was released in 2001 went double platinum. His third album Distant Light released in 2003 featured three songs that made the Australian top 40 singles charts...

, released through Inertia on 1 November 2008.

The album is Lloyd's first to be released independently

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

, which is said to have given him more freedom, taking away the pressures of labels and giving him the chance to create a sound more like his debut release, Black the Sun

Black the Sun

Black the Sun is the debut album by the Australian singer–songwriter Alex Lloyd, released in January 1999 via EMI Records.The song "Something Special" was later remixed by Resin Dogs to create "Something Special "....

.

The online order of the album through JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi is an Australian CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc, video game and consumer electronics chain store.-History:JB Hi-Fi was established in Melbourne suburb of Keilor East by John Barbuto in 1974...

 came signed by Alex Lloyd, with three bonus postcards.

Singles

The album spawned two singles. "Slow Train" was released as the album's first single in 2008, with it being available for free from Lloyd's official website. The song's music video was animated with 7,000 hand drawn pictures.

Similarly, "What We Started", the second single released in 2009, was also made available for free as a limited-time download via the Nova 100

Nova 100

Nova 100 is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, broadcasting on 100.3 MHz. It is in the Melbourne radio market, with the intention of challenging the number one FM Austereo station Fox FM by playing alternative, hip hop, pop & dance music, with a strong lean towards...

 website.

Critical reception

The album received positive reviews upon release, with a number of reviewers likening both the sound and quality of the LP to that of his debut album, Black the Sun

Black the Sun

Black the Sun is the debut album by the Australian singer–songwriter Alex Lloyd, released in January 1999 via EMI Records.The song "Something Special" was later remixed by Resin Dogs to create "Something Special "....

;
Faster Louder attributed the album's similarities to his earlier work on his decision to relocate to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, claiming that the "change of scenery has enabled Lloyd to get into the same creative head space last seen on his debut album" resulting in "a pleasant pop record containing some of his best songs in years". Alexandra Nowak of The Independent Weekly

The Independent Weekly

The Independent Weekly, established in September 2004, is an independent newspaper published and circulated in Adelaide, capital of South Australia...

 also took a positive view, stating that "Good in the Face of a Stranger ultimately provides beautiful melodic lines with a mix of refined and delicate vocals that presents a basic yet artistically original album".

However, not all reviews were unanimously positive, as Tsunami Mag gave an opposing point of view, noting that by "sticking to his original guns and playing it safe (he) has produced what tends to be a mediocre comeback".

Track listing

Chart performance

Country	Provider(s)	Peak position
Australia	ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	80

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue #
Australia	4 November 2008	Inertia	CD, MP3, limited edition digipak	#LPTAB0001