CD: Angel Olsen - Phases | reviews, news & interviews
CD: Angel Olsen - Phases
CD: Angel Olsen - Phases
Singer-songwriter at her most open in this career-spanning retrospective
An underground American star since 2010’s Strange Cacti EP, Angel Olsen’s distinctive brand of indie folk-rock was propelled to new heights in both Burn Your Fire For No Witness (2014) and then last year with MY WOMAN.
“Fly on Your Wall”, originally featured in the Pitchfork anti-Trump fundraiser Our First 100 Days, makes for a thudding start to the album. Olsen’s voice is at its most confident and drawling, while her lyrics are as personal as ever. It seems fitting that the song introducing a compilation which mines her back catalogue features the line “I turned into someone I never imagined I’d be”. Witty as ever, then.
The only other major nod to her fuzz-loving side is in 2013 single “Sweet Dreams”, which is equal parts Nancy Sinatra, spaghetti-Western and grunge. Olsen’s howl in the chorus is ecstatic and electrifying – here, she seems to hover above the sea of quiet sadness that she drowns in for the rest of the album.
Four of the tracks are culled from the sessions for Burn Your Fire…, and along with two home demos (“Sans” and “How Many Disasters”), they make up this softer side of the album. Although they prove that Olsen’s ability to write warm crooning songs has been with her since the start of her career, the sheer number of warbling guitar-and-voice tracks makes Phases feel perhaps slightly too repetitive and sparse for just a casual listen.
For mega-fans, this will provide an exciting insight into Olsen at her most private and tender; for the rest of us, it’s a good compilation that doesn’t quite match up to the grandeur of her previous LPs.
rating
Explore topics
Share this article
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Add comment