Jan 8

Jan 8 5.

Angel Olsen - My Woman

[Jagjaguwar]

The first two or three times I listened to My Woman I was faintly disappointed. Angel’s last album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness was also in my top 10 of that year (2014) and this follow up seemed like she’d stripped back the dramatics, the dynamics and the cutting edge of her sound. It only took a few more listen to realise that My Woman is purposefully not a re-hash of Burn Your Fire, but is a much more finely crafted, more mature and overall more impressive album.

The heart-cracking melodrama of Olsen’s music is still as strong as ever, and that’s clear from the very first track, “Intern.” What’s changed is Angel’s way of getting across just how deep these emotions run, musically, vocally and lyrically. In “Intern” she laments over wide, warm synthesizer, admitting “doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, still gotta wake up and be someone.” Hearing this statement, both damning and invigorating at once, being sung in Olsen’s inimitably rich voice cuts straight through me. The following run of tracks is classic pop rock, where she’s flits between the crushing (“Never Be Mine”), tongue-in-cheek flirtations (“Shut Up Kiss Me”) and back again (“Give It Up”). In this trio of songs it’s clear she has more of a grip on herself than before, happy to poke fun at herself or imbuing her songs with the kind of airiness that says that despite her lamentations, she’ll get through this stronger and better than before.

The second half of the album sees Angel working with her backing band in a collaborative way that results in her biggest songs to date, musically and lyrically. “Sister” is the first of two songs which push past the 7-minute mark; a slow build as Angel contemplates the love she has received and what’s yet to come, before the song explodes into my favourite guitar solo of 2016. “Woman” is a more brooding affair, where Angel summons all her powers as a singer, writer, musician and of course a female, as she challenges some unseen combatant: “I dare you to understand what makes me a woman.”

Angel completes the album with the delicate piano ballad “Pops,” signing off in magnificent form with the lines: “baby don’t forget it’s just a song / I’ll be the thing that lives in the dream when it’s gone.” She’s absolutely spot on – as she is throughout My Woman.

---

Below you can see my top 50 albums of the year list.