Angel Olsen

[sardines]

There is a topic from a few years ago but it fizzled out pretty quickly.
Surprised there is little discussion about her on here.
The new album is picking up big reviews and I think they are getting it right
(Laura Snapes Pitchfork review being particularly good).


I've always thought Olsen makes interesting choices in terms of production and album collaboration (something which is flattened out in her live shows). This seems to be the peak of that.

In some ways the album only really gets going at 'Spring' which is such an audacious piece of writing it feels like she has condensed the entire history of pop in 3 minutes.

What is great though is that this is an 'album' in the old fashioned sense. Posting links for individual songs feels pointless
If someone played me the last track in isolation I'd be tempted to tell them to do one but in context the first time I heard the album it left me a fucking mess.

In some ways this is how Lana Del Ray sounds like in my head if I believed all those early descriptions. But of course she doesn't because she is shit. Angel Olsen is not shit. This is fucking great. It feels big but at the same time intensely personal like I only ever want to hear it on headphones, never out loud.



I'm looking forward now to everyone saying she is a bit naff.. Go ahead...

[Gregory Torso]

I absolutely love her. Her voice is almost a physical shard of pain. If the end comes, and I am cognizant, I want to take a deckchair up to the roof and listen to "Sister" waiting for the comet to hit. Sorry, earlier I emptied three bottles of wine into a bagpipes and I have since been wheezing shitass shiraz lowland standards all over my flat, but here's something beautiful, a voice in perpetual flight that will never save you - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CQSOoFlaxI but really, just listen to Angel Olsen.

[BlodwynPig]

A fan here but not incessantly so. Ive heard the first track from Mirrors but got side tracked by Alexander Robotnick (see appropriate thread). Great voice elevates the material

[Poobum]

Just learned of her. Lark is immense and mesmeric. Added to the list of artist I like to lay on the floor and listen to as my mind is carried away by their noise makes.

[Ja'moke]

I really like the new album. Maybe my favourite of hers. Sounds 'bigger' than her past work.

Also, Lana Del Rey isn't shit.

[kalowski]

New Love Cassette is particularly lovely, is it not?

[Gregory Torso]

Nudging this back onto the first page because I bought All Mirrors last week and it's just amazing. The bit when "Lark" kicks off has my rat hovel flat rumbling like it's going to soar into the bitter starless night, tearing the Sue Ryder shop underneath me from its foundations and scattering bald cushions and crooked end tables into the street. I could see myself playing this endlessly, daily, as a ritual, even though it hurts. It hurts but it's such a sweet pain. Listen to Angel Olsen.

[Jockice]

I really liked Teenage Warning.

[Egyptian Feast]

Intrigued by this thread and reviews of All Mirrors while bored on a recent holiday, I listened to 'Lark' and 'All Mirrors' on my phone. They sounded so immense even through the crappy speakers, I ordered the album immediately so it was waiting when I got back. Cranked it up good & proper and when 'Lark' kicked in it practically shook the plaster off the ceiling. My neighbours loved me that night.

It's an immense album. I'm trying to ration it as it's not an album you want playing in the background when doing something else or talking with your partner. It demands your full attention.

I'd remembered hearing lots of praise for Burn Your Fire For No Witness so picked that up as well. Hearing something as raw as 'Unfucktheworld' straight after the final track on All Mirrors was a bit jarring at first, but I'm addicted to that album now and might even like it more than the new one.

My Woman is at the top of my Christmas wishlist. Is her earlier stuff worth checking out?

[sardines]

I'm glad people keep picking up on this thread as it somehow confirms my feeling that there are a lot of layers at work here.

Fully agree on the rationing though the few times I listened casually it caught me out and I'm always suckered in by the time Spring ends.

" Is her earlier stuff worth checking out?"


I'm a fan boy from the start so I'd say 'yes' as i believe her songwriting has always been strong.

That said, as I mentioned before, I think it is some of the production choices that have really added depth so I would guess that working backwards the earlier stuff may feel one dimensional in comparison.

I think 'Lonely Universe' still gets played a lot live  and is a pretty good representation of her early work.

[BlodwynPig]

I just checked an early album and although a tad beiger stylistically, her voice carries the album to a different dimension

[Dr Syntax Head]

Lark is truly something else. It's a full on cryer