A year on from Big Time, Angel Olsen revisits four songs from that startlingly beautiful full-length’s sessions, paring back to classic country essentials in two pristine ballads and rocking out in a pair of full-band recordings.
The showstopper is “Nothing’s Free” where Olsen’s breathy, tremulous phrasing curls like blue smoke over widely spaced piano chords. The arrangement isn’t so much sparse as absolutely right, complete with an astonishing saxophone solo from session pro Dan Higgins. It’s interesting about the saxophone, because Olsen’s voice echoes it in some ways. She has a jazzy, reed-like fluidity that distills the song into its essence without seeming to push at all. Indeed, she conveys overwhelming emotion with purity and restraint. There are no big dramatic gestures, but you feel the punch regardless. In this song and the title track that follows it, it’s not out of line to compare her to the great Patsy Cline.
As in Big Time, Olsen has brought some very seasoned talent in to support her. Besides Higgins, Drew Erickson returns on piano and keyboards; he’s played with Lana Del Ray and Margo Price. The full band songs add Jake Blanton on guitar and Emily Elhaj on bass. “Time Bandits” smolders, rocks quiet foundations with punching drums and allows Olsen to let loose, vocally, in a flute-y, urgent belt. “Holding On” is even more heated, with its clamped, tension-building guitar play and wailing vocals. Yet even when Olsen pushes the volume, she remains very much in control. The two rock songs seethe with a volatile combination of discipline and release.
Forever Means gives you just a taste of where Angel Olsen has been and where may be headed next. Its four songs are distinct, the first two quietly stunning, the second two exhilarating and wild. The whole experience lasts just over a quarter of an hour, but you want more of everything when it’s over. | j kelly
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