It's been nearly three years since the last album proper from Angel Olsen, and what a record that one was. All Mirrors (2019) was so good that the follow-up was a long-player that offered up new versions of some of the same songs. And, admirably, Angel Olsen has taken the sound she perfected on All Mirrors and expanded it here, while even ditching it entirely on a few selections.
Recorded following the deaths of her parents, Big Time is a cathartic release in spots, even if catharsis takes the form of classic country on the first two compositions. "All The Good Times" and "Big Time" don't sound too dissimilar to material that Loretta Lynn or Kitty Wells might write and record, only with rich, modern production elements. Signs of Olsen's personal journey emerge on the twang-y "Dream Thing", and then "All The Flowers", one of her most delicate performances to date. These are all great numbers, ones any performer would crave as their own, but then Big Time opens things up in a big, big way.
The stately "Right Now" builds like an old Emmylou gem before erupting into a flourish of strings, arranged again with real expertise by Drew Erickson. Olsen's voice sounds like Orbison's, the world ending as the vinyl spins in the darkness, to paraphrase an old Bruce quote about Roy's work, before Angel commands like a word from above. When she sings "I need you to look at me and listen", her words warped as if coming from inside the void, the music swells around her performance and the whole package seems a dream combination of, say, Nick Cave and Dusty Springfield. It's epic, glorious music, akin to "Lark" from All Mirrors, but edgier. The spry "This is How It Works" and the regret-filled "Go Home" deliver the pleasures Olsen's fans can come to expect now with each release, even as the breathy torch of "Through the Fires" reveals another skill of this singer. Her ability to interpret a variety of material, and her power with this stuff is extraordinary in spots here. The emotional range on the closer, "Chasing the Sun", to use one example, is stunning.
Big Time is elegant, a record that's got all the weariness of Sinatra's classic sides, and the verve and heart of the best from Dusty. Significantly, Angel Olsen and co-producer Jonathan Wilson have given this record a natural progression that just knocked me out. If All Mirrors was a showcase for Angel's talents as a singer, this one is a parade of her instincts as a performer. The material, structured as a sort of emotional song-cycle, grants a listener release. Big Time is one to get lost (and found) in.
Big Time is out tomorrow via Jagjaguwar.
[Photo: Angela Ricciardi]