Angel Olsen: All Mirrors Vinyl 2LP

"I guess you could say some bold and unexpected things have happened in my life” says Angel Olsen, "It feels like part of my writing has come back from the past, and another part of it was waiting to exist.” Angel Olsen gained much attention with the blown-out alt-folk of Burn Your Fire For No Witness, her chilling vibrato cutting through the crunchy, lo-fi production. My Woman was a step closer to the sunset days of Laurel Canyon, drawing apt comparisons to Stevie Nicks and Neil Young with its concise pop songwriting. All Mirrors is her latest, and was originally recorded as a back-to-basics solo record. “I wanted to have versions of these songs that are completely raw and real in the way some of my earlier recordings are.” The more maximalist final version evolved slowly with producer John Congleton, arranger Jherek Bischoff, arranger and session player Ben Babbitt, and a 14 piece orchestra. The title track is heavily influenced by morose, synthesizer driven post-punk - gated drums, sweeping strings, and washes of keyboard chords. While the instrumentation and complexity of production has transformed, her singular voice remains as strong as ever. ”As I see it, in order for an artist to survive some kind of change, change needs to be a constant. For myself that constant change means having some kind of epiphany or clarity expressed in song. I don't know if it's something I inspire or attract, or if it's just in the way I'm looking at my surroundings, but drama is something that surrounds my world and always has. I'm at least happy that I've learned to write it down.”

• black double vinyl pressing
• housed in deluxe foil-stamped gatefold jacket
  
• includes large print lyric booklet + giant foldout poster
• digital download included
• music label: Jagjaguwar 2019

reviewed by WEIRD CACTUS 07/2019