Third Album On Vinyl LP!
One Of Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2016!
Anyone reckless enough to have typecast Angel Olsen according to 2013's Burn Your Fire For No Witness is in for a rethink with her third album, MY WOMAN. The crunchier, blown-out production of the former is gone, but that fire is burning wilder. Her disarming, timeless voice is even more front-and-center. Yet, the strange, raw power and slowly unspooling incantations of her previous efforts remain.
Over two previous albums, she gave us reverb-shrouded poetic swoons, shadowy folk, grunge-pop band workouts and haunting, finger-picked epics. MY WOMAN is an exhilarating complement to her past work, and one for which Olsen recalibrated her writing/recording approach and methods to enter a new music-making phase. As the record evolves, one gets the sense that the "my woman" of the title is Olsen herself, absolutely in command but also willing to bend with the influence of collaborators and circumstances. An intuitively smart, warmly communicative and fearlessly generous record, MY WOMAN speaks to everyone. That it might confound expectation is just another of its strengths.
"While some tracks will surprise established fans, to say that My Woman is a departure or style swap for Olsen doesn't really take into account the album as a whole. The elements that are new here play out like a means to an end for a songwriter with a tale to tell, one chock-full of raw emotions. The songs stand just fine on their own, too, out of context. So, load up the playlists, but consider giving the album a proper front-to-back play through at least once for old time's sake." - Marcy Donelson, allmusic.com
"The album itself, she says, is split in two. An A and B side. It's not quite as straight-forward as the fiery stuff up front, the folky stuff further back, but close. It opens with cosmic ballad 'Intern', which bleeds into the tragic sweetness of 'Never Be Mine'. The grungy 'Shut Up Kiss Me' is the closest thing here to an anthem. The video, in fact Olsen in a tinsel wig riding around on roller skates captures her infectious, badass outlook perfectly. 'Not Gonna Kill You' is a '70s psychedelic glam-rock freakout. The pace does slow for part two but it's no less engaging. The highlight is 'Sister'. A shimmering eight-minute distorted country-folk number that builds to a teary Fleetwood Mac crescendo complete with sprawling guitar solo. As with her previous efforts Olsen's unique vocal steals the show, but this is the singer opening up all the other parts to her personality. The more we see, the more there is to love." - Greg Cochrane, NME
"Olsen is a brilliant songwriter and an even better vocalist, who can go from stern to tender to deranged, and back again, in a single verse. Angel Olsens fearless and eloquent embrace of raw emotions in all their messy splendor ultimately feels oddly uplifting, the way it always does when you witness a gifted artist at her best." - Jon Young, Paste Magazine
Features:
Vinyl LP
Gatefold jacket
Limited time digital download
Selections:
Side A:
1. Intern
2. Never Be Mine
3. Shut Up Kiss Me
4. Give It Up
5. Not Gonna Kill You
6. Heart Shaped Face
Side B:
7. Sister
8. Those Were The Days
9. Woman
10. Pops
One Of Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2016!
Anyone reckless enough to have typecast Angel Olsen according to 2013's Burn Your Fire For No Witness is in for a rethink with her third album, MY WOMAN. The crunchier, blown-out production of the former is gone, but that fire is burning wilder. Her disarming, timeless voice is even more front-and-center. Yet, the strange, raw power and slowly unspooling incantations of her previous efforts remain.
Over two previous albums, she gave us reverb-shrouded poetic swoons, shadowy folk, grunge-pop band workouts and haunting, finger-picked epics. MY WOMAN is an exhilarating complement to her past work, and one for which Olsen recalibrated her writing/recording approach and methods to enter a new music-making phase. As the record evolves, one gets the sense that the "my woman" of the title is Olsen herself, absolutely in command but also willing to bend with the influence of collaborators and circumstances. An intuitively smart, warmly communicative and fearlessly generous record, MY WOMAN speaks to everyone. That it might confound expectation is just another of its strengths.
"While some tracks will surprise established fans, to say that My Woman is a departure or style swap for Olsen doesn't really take into account the album as a whole. The elements that are new here play out like a means to an end for a songwriter with a tale to tell, one chock-full of raw emotions. The songs stand just fine on their own, too, out of context. So, load up the playlists, but consider giving the album a proper front-to-back play through at least once for old time's sake." - Marcy Donelson, allmusic.com
"The album itself, she says, is split in two. An A and B side. It's not quite as straight-forward as the fiery stuff up front, the folky stuff further back, but close. It opens with cosmic ballad 'Intern', which bleeds into the tragic sweetness of 'Never Be Mine'. The grungy 'Shut Up Kiss Me' is the closest thing here to an anthem. The video, in fact Olsen in a tinsel wig riding around on roller skates captures her infectious, badass outlook perfectly. 'Not Gonna Kill You' is a '70s psychedelic glam-rock freakout. The pace does slow for part two but it's no less engaging. The highlight is 'Sister'. A shimmering eight-minute distorted country-folk number that builds to a teary Fleetwood Mac crescendo complete with sprawling guitar solo. As with her previous efforts Olsen's unique vocal steals the show, but this is the singer opening up all the other parts to her personality. The more we see, the more there is to love." - Greg Cochrane, NME
"Olsen is a brilliant songwriter and an even better vocalist, who can go from stern to tender to deranged, and back again, in a single verse. Angel Olsens fearless and eloquent embrace of raw emotions in all their messy splendor ultimately feels oddly uplifting, the way it always does when you witness a gifted artist at her best." - Jon Young, Paste Magazine
Features:
Vinyl LP
Gatefold jacket
Limited time digital download
Selections:
Side A:
1. Intern
2. Never Be Mine
3. Shut Up Kiss Me
4. Give It Up
5. Not Gonna Kill You
6. Heart Shaped Face
Side B:
7. Sister
8. Those Were The Days
9. Woman
10. Pops