ANGEL OLSEN: A BUYER’S GUIDE

STRANGE CACTI 2010

Olsen’s first mini-album, originally self-released on cassette and then reissued by Asheville’s Bathetic Records, is a self-recorded suite of guitar and voice that recalls the feeling of dropping the needle on a rare 78 of a lost jazz singer. Her captivating and unusual vocal delivery portends the more fleshed-out folk songs to come.

HALF WAY HOME 2012

Recorded while Olsen was a touring member of Will Oldham’s band, and produced with fellow Oldham collaborator Emmet Kelly in Chicago. It’s her first full-length, a folk album that incorporates lo-fi, countrified instrumentation for a more robust sound that retains an intimate quality, placing her extraordinary voice front and centre. “The Tiniest Seed”, in particular, is a devastating masterpiece.

BURN YOUR FIRE FOR NO WITNESS 2014

Olsen’s consummate folk-rock masterpiece that propelled her lonely narrator to new audiences. It’s the first album she recorded with John Congleton, when his studio was located in Dallas, Texas, and her first for the indie label Jagjaguwar. “Unfucktheworld” provides a gorgeous framework for her singular voice, an instant classic that remains a fan favourite.

MY WOMAN 2016

The retro rock album that propelled to her work to wider audiences, My Woman features the exceptional singles “Shut Up, Kiss Me” and “Never Be Mine”, and introduced a slew of new music videos directed by Olsen, some with her in a now-infamous tinsel wig.

PHASES 2017

A collection of B-sides, covers and other previously unreleased material that pulls back the curtain on Olsen’s artistic output from 2013 onward, carving plot points between her vulnerable and powerful postures in song.