Continuing on from the moods conjured on her superb 2022 release Big Time, Forever Means finds Angel Olsen offering up a clutch of absolutely gorgeous tunes. The Jagjaguwar release drops on Friday, and Angel's just announced a set of 2023 tour dates.
Angel's gone on record as saying that the title cut here is a nod towards George Harrison's solo material, and one can certainly hear that. The tune nearly drifts into the ether, as if Olsen were desperately clutching at it, even as she was wistfully letting it fly. "Forever means trying to see," she sings, and it's heartbreaking as you may imagine. Elsewhere, "Time Bandits" marries a strong rhythmic-base to her powerful voice. The backing here made me think of the late Jon Hassell (the muted trumpets, maybe?), and I certainly enjoyed a track that seemed to envelop Angel's voice in such a powerful way. The piano-balled of "Nothing's Free" wouldn't have sounded out of place on either of Olsen's last two records, while closer "Holding On" is a good deal fiery still. This one builds and builds, with strings, a sitar, and drum-hits pushing Olsen's voice forward into our ears. It's a scorcher, and a nice stylistic change from the other moodier numbers on this EP.
Forever Means by Angel Olsen is out on Friday via Jagjaguwar.
More details on this EP and the upcoming Angel Olsen tour via AngelOlsen.com.
[Photo: Luke Rogers]