Angel Olsen’s fourth studio album transcends her previous ones, and reinforces her position at the peak of new American songwriting. Refined performances, the splendour and modernity of the strings arranged by multi-instrumentalists Ben Babbitt and Jherek Bischoff, brilliant production by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Suuns, Swans, David Byrne, etc.), subtle interplay of stylistic references, all these factors contribute to elevate Olsen’s perfectly mature songcraft. One feels it in the quality of her lyrics, which work a wider emotional terrain, and the nuances of her voice, expressing an entire spectrum of inner states, from great strength to great fragility.
