Angel Olsen Shares New Album 'Big Time'

Angel Olsen is set to whip her lasso into the tear ducts of the broken-hearted worldwide with the release of the North Carolina-based songwriter's new album Big Time, out today through Jagjaguwar Records. It is a remarkably consistent collection of songs that never strays far from the melancholy. Even when you find your toes tapping along to honky-tonk crooners like ‘All The Good Times’ or blushing at the cutesy lovers prose of the title track, a slight step back reveals an aura of sadness.

The sadness of Big Time is not a feeling that is created by any studio magic, but by the raw experiences of loss, grief and loneliness. Recorded in the wake of the death of both Olsen’s parents, and just three weeks after her mothers funeral, there is an earnest pain to her voice unmistakable to anyone who has endured grief of this nature. Listening to a vocal performance like ‘All the Flowers’, you can’t convince yourself that what you’re hearing is anything but the genuine article. The husky, wavering, lament-laden melody makes it no secret that its singer is despairing. Olsen is herself first and foremost on this record, representing her experience of loss and heartbreak not only in the lyrics she has penned but in the very performance itself.

In a bittersweet reflection on coming out to her parents, Olsen says “Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me”. I say bittersweet because this conversation occurred just three days before her father passed, shortly followed by her mother, leaving Olsen to grieve not only her parents — but also the opportunity for them to know her as she knows herself. Big Time straps a saddle of grief, rides into the frontier bare-backed and unafraid with long sought self-acceptance steadying the reigns.

A short film accompanying the album directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, also entitled Big Time, premiered yesterday via Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel and is available through the Amazon Music app — check out the trailer below. We're giving away a vinyl LP edition of Big Time — be in to win HERE.

'Big Time' is out today via Jagjaguwar.