Angel Olsen

by Jonny McKinnell

On Sunday 16th October Angel Olsen’s current tour brings her to Motion Bristol. Having just finished a series of dates across the US, Olsen now comes to the UK in order to begin the European leg of her tour, where fellow USA natives, Little Wings, will join her.

Hailing from St Louis, Missouri, Angel Olsen’s start in the music business came at the age of 16 when she was part of the band Good Fight, self-described as a meeting of early No Doubt and punk rock. When she began to become influenced by English folk music she left the group and started to develop her unique blend of folk and indie-rock that is still definitive in her current music.

Her most recent album, MY WOMAN, was released on 2nd September and it marks an evolution in her sound. Rather than the feelings of folky solitude that defined Olsen’s previous releases, MY WOMAN introduces a harder edge to her music; a more rock n’ roll sentiment joins the heartbreak, a return, perhaps, to her earlier punk influences. Her album was well received upon release with the New Yorker calling it !expansive and cinematic! and, according to NME, Olsen’s ‘unique vocal steals the show’. PearShaped’s own Oliver Rose also recently reviewed MY WOMAN giving the album a rating of 4.15 and summed up his verdict on Angel Olsen by simply stating “she’s bloody brilliant”.

This gig promises to be an entertaining night for both established fans and newcomers with Angel Olsen’s new style delivering a fresh experience for all.