Country : United States Label : Jagjaguwar Genres and styles : Alt-Country / Americana / Country Year : 2022

Angel Olsen – Big Time

· by Stephan Boissonneault

Back in 2019, it seemed like the alternative indie signer-songwriter darling, Angel Olsen, was going for a more synth-wave pop sound with her release of All Mirrors—essentially trading the lush and cosmic guitar tones for a wall of analog and modular synths—but on her latest album, Big Time, she has found a home in the Americana country realm. It’s not the first time she has experimented with this Americana country sound, but on Big Time, Angel’s operatic voice pairs ridiculously well with the lap steel guitar, country organ crescendos, mandolin trills, and warm mellotron synonymous with ’70s country act like Tammy Wynette or Loretta Lynn. She’s always wanted her records to feel like a band is playing in the background with her voice at the forefront, and now she has her wish.

There could be a thematic reason for Angel’s shift into Big Time‘s country mysticism. The genre is glued to times of loss and hardship, and Angel has had her fair share in the last few years. Her father passed around the time she filmed the powerful duet “Like I Used To” with Sharon Van Etten, and a few months after her mother followed in his footsteps.

Due to these two big events, Big Time is riddled with grief, but it’s not a sad album—it’s more so a celebration of memories sung by one of the most powerful voices in music today. Some of the songs “Ghost On,” and “Dream Thing” also have Angel coming to terms with her queerness and newfound loves, specifically the title track, which was co-written by her partner Beau Thibodeaux, a screenwriter for HBO.

“Right Now,” could be one of the most vulnerable and commanding tracks she’s written since her Burn Your Fire For No Witness days. The song feels like Angel is singing to her younger past self and the outro, featuring a guitar line that could be described as a modern take on the Dies Irae “Day of Wrath” melody, is entrancing and sinister.

Big Time is a gorgeous album front to back, and even though I will admit to missing the old Angel Olsen soaked in guitar reverb, this new venture seems to be her at her most confident and comfortable.

Latest 360 Content

Nuits d’Afrique: Bab L’ Bluz Summons The Desert

Nuits d’Afrique: Bab L’ Bluz Summons The Desert

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Saïd Mesnaoui: Gnawa Fusion at the Heart of a Radiant Artist

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Saïd Mesnaoui: Gnawa Fusion at the Heart of a Radiant Artist

Festival de Lanaudière | Paulus & Elias: Mendelssohn’s oratorios presented by Akamus

Festival de Lanaudière | Paulus & Elias: Mendelssohn’s oratorios presented by Akamus

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: love, through the kora and by the kora

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: love, through the kora and by the kora

Festival Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sahad: The star of Dakar Shines on Balattou

Festival Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sahad: The star of Dakar Shines on Balattou

Nuits d’Afrique | Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Live!

Nuits d’Afrique | Femi Kuti & The Positive Force Live!

Nuits d’Afrique | Les mamans du Congo x Rrobin

Nuits d’Afrique | Les mamans du Congo x Rrobin

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté and Soul Bang’s, Guinea’s “Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté and Soul Bang’s, Guinea’s “Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Karma Glider – From the Haze of a Revved Up Youth

Karma Glider – From the Haze of a Revved Up Youth

Nuits d’Afrique | Sahad: Decolonising music, spirits and the land

Nuits d’Afrique | Sahad: Decolonising music, spirits and the land

Cammac music camp : where professionals and passionate amateurs meet through music

Cammac music camp : where professionals and passionate amateurs meet through music

Nuits d’Afrique | Yawo and The Music of The Desert Nomads

Nuits d’Afrique | Yawo and The Music of The Desert Nomads

Nuits d’Afrique | Zal Sissokho and Toumany Kouyaté, a Kora Highlight

Nuits d’Afrique | Zal Sissokho and Toumany Kouyaté, a Kora Highlight

Nuits d’Afrique | Wesli, One Foot in Haiti, One Foot in Canada

Nuits d’Afrique | Wesli, One Foot in Haiti, One Foot in Canada

Nuits d’Afrique | Fabrice Koffy and His Slam, in Full Band Mode

Nuits d’Afrique | Fabrice Koffy and His Slam, in Full Band Mode

Nuits d’Afrique | Daby Touré Restarts His Machine

Nuits d’Afrique | Daby Touré Restarts His Machine

Nuits d’Afrique | Stogie T, South African Rainbow, Hip-Hop, Soul, Rock, Jazz

Nuits d’Afrique | Stogie T, South African Rainbow, Hip-Hop, Soul, Rock, Jazz

Nuits d’Afrique | Mateus Vidal Reborn With Axé Experience

Nuits d’Afrique | Mateus Vidal Reborn With Axé Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Chanticleer : To Polyphony And Beyond

Festival de Lanaudière | Chanticleer : To Polyphony And Beyond

Nuits d’Afrique | Less Toches, Three Nights in A Row

Nuits d’Afrique | Less Toches, Three Nights in A Row

Nuits d’Afrique | All the Peppers of Sauce Piquante Sound System

Nuits d’Afrique | All the Peppers of Sauce Piquante Sound System

Festival de Lanaudière | Collectif9 : contemporary music through groove and folk

Festival de Lanaudière | Collectif9 : contemporary music through groove and folk

Nuits d’Afrique | Jean Jean Roosevelt and The Afro-Realist Song

Nuits d’Afrique | Jean Jean Roosevelt and The Afro-Realist Song

Nuits d’Afrique | Daby Touré’s Montreal Cycle

Nuits d’Afrique | Daby Touré’s Montreal Cycle

Subscribe to our newsletter