Angel Olsen

One Liner: Torchy indie folk tunes that wear out their welcome quickly
Wikipedia Genre: Indie folk, indie rock, alternative country
Spotify Says Similar To: Sharon Van Etten and Kevin Morby
Home: Chicago (apparently now in Asheville, NC)

Poster Position: 8
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  I reviewed her most recent album (2016's My Woman) not too long ago, mainly based on how much high praise it had been receiving from critics.  I am not a huge fan. Olsen spends the vast majority of her time in the same style as the Lana Del Reys of the world, the torchy, breathy, sultry singer register.  And I get tired of that sound after like two songs.  It's lovely, kind of Cowboy Junkies (see "Heart Shaped Face"), kind of surf-ish rock Chris Isaak, very relaxed and nice to hear, but it just doesn't do much for me after a while. Her most popular track is that one that I liked from my earlier post, the more rock-focused "Shut Up Kiss Me" with 7.7 million streams.

The last time I went roller skating, it was brought into stark focus for me how much less fun it is to do shit like that when you have grown old.  I loved to roller skate when I was a kid, and my kids eat it up, but doing it now feels like I've taken LSD and then jumped into some new extreme sport with a high mortality rate.  I'm either fully out of control and aiming for a metal pole, or I'm going a tenth of a mile an hour and still about to fall down.  And yet there are always those creepy bastards out there, skating backwards and eyeballing the teenage girls (who, the last time I went to the rink to pick up a kid, were inexplicably all decked out in unflattering 80's gear like it was a Debbie Gibson mall appearance).  Anyway, that song is cool - it takes her attitude and pipes and adds them to a good rock chug that will hold my interest.  
Her second most listened to track is from her 2014 album Burn Your Fire for No Witness, and is called "Unfucktheworld."  It clocks in at 5.7 million streams.

More of a lo-fi sound, and short as hell, just barely breaking the 2 minute mark.  Lyrically interesting - I love the lyrics of "I wanted nothing but for this to be the end, For this to never be a tired and empty hand, If all the trouble in my heart would only mend, I lost my dream, I lost my reason all again." - but after this track comes many more that just blend together for me without anything to make them all that interesting.

Luckily for you and me, she also did a Tiny Desk Concert, so let's go there and see how she seems IRL.

This Tiny Desk was done just before the 2014 album came out, so it is relatively old and doesn't feature anything from the new album.  But you can definitely get a feel for the general sound of her music, generally quiet but powerful in lyrics.  I really want to like this more than I do, but in being honest with myself, I really don't want to hear it anymore.

Will I Go See Her in the Fall?  No.