Tag: Angel Olsen

Posted in Listed

Favourite Albums of 2016

Posted on by Michael

41j2AEn1MUL._AA240_QL65_5.  Minor Victories – Minor Victories:   With members of Slowdive, Mogwai, and Editors – this super group’s debut album got OK reviews but it was an album that we loved front to back.   “Folk Arp” is the standout with cinematic “The Thief” and Mark Kozelek feature on “For You Always” being among the other highlights.  An instrumental version of the album is being released this January.

 

 

solange4.  Solange – A Seat At The Table:  When it comes to R and B, we’ve always been far more into the dancefloor ready rave-ups vs the quiet storm jams.  Maybe its because we’re getting older and life is slower or its because Solange’s second album is just that good that on this one, we love all of it.  “Cranes in the Sky” is a lovely track and the insistent stuttering beats of “Don’t You Wait” are solid.    We haven’t heard the Beyonce album yet in full (for shame) but at least one Knowles sister caught our ear in 2016 and wouldn’t let go.

 

 michael3.  Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate:  The sophomore album from the London singer is a showstopper. After battling creative issues for the past few years, Kiwanuka blasts out of the doldrums with two instant classics in Cold Little Heart and A Black Man In A White World.  Elsewhere – the title track and One More Night both shine. We are behind the times as Kiwanuka’s first album passed us by but we’re glad we caught up to him on this gritty soul classic.

 

51nsxxrskwl-_aa240_ql65_2.  Laura Gibson – Empire Builder:  Reading review for Gibson’s fourth album was the first time we had actually heard of her or remember hearing of her.  Glad we did – “Damn Sure” rated high on our tracks of the year while the title track is simply beautiful.  A sharp, smart lyricist – Gibson is able to catch a range of human emotions.  After reading about her journeys and education pursuits we think we like her even more.

 

 51pdglntyll-_aa240_ql65_1.  Angel Olsen – My Woman:  Our favourite album of 2016 starts off with the synth drone of “Intern”, contains the giddy rock of “Shut Up Kiss Me” and features an epic centrepiece in “Sister”.  There’s a few artist that just seem like “ours” and Olsen is one of them.  While her albums aren’t quite as great as the first few Liz Phair ones from the 90s, that is who she reminds us of.  A talented songwriter that keeps getting better, we can’t wait to see where Angel Olsen goes next.

Posted in Album Reviews

Angel Olsen – My Woman (2016)

Posted on by Michael

51pdglntyll-_aa240_ql65_On Sunday, June 19th, Angel Olsen played to a few hundred people at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg.  A few miles away thousands were seeing Garth Brooks play his last of four shows at the much bigger MTS Centre. That night, the crowd at the Park was quiet.  A little hungover, sunburned and tired from a warm weekend spent at the beach or lake with Monday morning was not too far away.  Even still, it was a memorable night with Olsen’s voice being the main attraction. Just a few months later in September, she released her third studio album, My Woman.

The album is split into two sides – the first side contains the upbeat songs and the second side being quieter.   The synth driven first single “Intern” starts off the album before energetic tracks “Shut Up Kiss Me” and the Liz Phair-ish “Not Gonna Kill You” jump out of the speakers.  As things start to slow down, the near 8-minute “Sister” is a standout.  Throughout the album, Olsen repeats certain phrases and nowhere is it as effective as it is here when she repeats “All my life I thought I’d change” to close the track out.

My Woman is more direct than previous efforts, some of the lo-fi aspects have been cleaned up for a more direct sound.  This suits Olsen very well as she continues to grow as a songwriter.   While the first side of the album sparkles, by the time you hit another near 8 minute song, the penultimate “Woman”, things start to drag a bit.  Regardless, some of the best songs of Angel Olsen’s career are presented which makes it easy to skip back to the energetic side one.

8/10

(see also Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness review)

 

Posted in Album Reviews

Angel Olsen – Burn Your Fire For No Witness (2014)

Posted on by Michael

51CsnBe7lBL__SP160,160,0,T_It’s not often a love song can be described as ferocious, but it seems an apt description for Angel Olsen’s blinding single “Forgiven/Forgotten”. Hearing Olsen shout ”I don’t know anything, but I love you” through a haze of vocal and guitar distortion is mesmerizing. Olsen then taps into her inner Hank Williams for the punk-country twang of “Hi-Five” where she pleads, “I’m giving you my heart, are you giving me your heart?”

And this is how Angel Olsen’s second album, and first for Jagjaguwar, Burn Your Fire For No Witnessstarts out. As you get deeper into the album, Olsen, along with producer John Conglton favour minimal arrangements, letting the vocals mingle with spare instrumentation. The hushed lament of album closer “Windows” and acoustic “Iota” are great examples. But both contain subtle power, the percussion swell in the former and a bass drum that sounds like bombs going off in the distance on the latter. Burn Your Fire… is beautiful, angry, loving and sad all at the same time. This range of emotion makes Angel Olsen’s first full band release, a very compelling listen.

8/10

Review also found at UMFM.com