Album Review: Angel Olsen, Big Time

It may seem strange to suggest that it has taken Angel Olsen until her sixth album to find her voice, but that’s the feeling this listener gets from Big Time. Written while the 35-year-old Olsen was coming out and recorded shortly after the death of both her parents within a matter of months, it may be high on emotion, but it’s also the sound of an artist entirely comfortable in their skin.

And what a skin it is, as Olsen embraces Nashville with open arms, from the pure country lilt of the title track to the confessional whisper of ‘Ghost On’. ‘Right Now’ trades its torch and twang for some distorted guitar, while ‘Go Home’ adds some dramatic flourishes and jazzy strings, and the piano-led ‘Chasing The Sun’ ends proceedings with a downbeat Waitsian ballad.

Pick of the bunch, though, is the extraordinary lead single and album opener, ‘All The Good Times’; the best thing she’s done to date. There are hints of Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams in her world-weary delivery, while around the two minutes and 40 seconds mark, the song reaches a whole new level, as the brass section tumbles into earshot - and soars to the heavens on a big band swirl of magic and loss.