by Dominic Acito (@mycamgrlromance)
“Out With The Bangs. In With The Twangs” reads one advertisement for the latest Angel Olsen album, Big Time. Country music enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear one of Indie music’s best songwriters bring her talents to the genre, while fans of Olsen’s music will be pleased to know that this album is not simply an Angel Olsen album dressed in western trappings.
Big Time is a fitting title as this album feels larger in scale than her previous releases, with expansive instrumentation, horn sections and yes, even some slide guitar (that twang sound). Songs like the title track and “All The Good Times” would find themselves at home performed on Glen Campbell’s 1980’s variety hour TV show, but Olsen’s brutally honest lyrics would certainly be the distinction. Despite all the talk of scale and how this album is larger than most of Olsen’s, there are still plenty of songs here that capture Angel Olsen’s signature atmosphere of intimacy, despite the various instrumentation that backs her up.
The title track has production reminiscent of Father John Misty’s early work but with Misty’s cheeky lyricism replaced by Olsen’s authenticity. “Big Time” is a genuine love song that pairs best with a car ride out into the country after a long week, leaving you smiling and singing along to: “needing this coffee, needing this nature”. We are reminded of Olsen’s more intimate recordings on songs like “All The Flowers” which is an achingly beautiful song expressing her feelings of disbelief in finding happiness that she never thought she would find and expresses empathy for her former self who was/is “…spending too much time searching in vain to find the only reason”. Most of the subject matter tends to be heavy in much of Olsen’s work, but she is not entirely devoid of humor, like the song “Right Now” where she sings “why’d you have to go and make it weird?” with a sincerity that can illicit smiles from the listener.
While that twangy lap steel guitar isn’t on every track, it appears on a number of songs where it elevates the material and serves as a counterbalance to Olsen’s distinct warble. For instance, on the song “How It Works,” which is a refreshing take on the confessional songs, it celebrates the healing nature of confessional songwriting. Specifically, it is an ode to the friends we call when the walls of melancholy feel like they are closing in. The repeating refrain of “this is how it works for me now” reminds us that the fight against depression is ongoing but we can find what works for us and that phone calls to friends when you’re feeling low are not weakness but just another way that we have found to get by. “How It Works” is a song that exemplifies Olsen’s expert songwriting, that deep in melancholy there is a sense of hope.
“Go Home” is a beautiful song that details the feelings of seclusion in the spotlight. Fitting that on an album called Big Time Olsen sings “I want to go home, go back to small things” reminiscent of a desire to return to simpler times. The song takes a broader perspective, as the last three years seem to have raised the stakes for everyone. Olsen asks “How can I go on, forget the old dream?” While accepting the past, she questions how we can reevaluate our lives after that drastic change. The album ends with Olsen on the move, on the song “Chasing The Sun” we are treated to a description of hitting the road in search of something or someone and reminded that while we can never catch the sun, it might just illuminate something new for us along the way.