How do you best describe Angel Olsen? From the lo-fi, sparse folk-melancholy of her 2010 EP, Strange Cacti, to the electrified, polished rock ‘n’ roll bursting from 2016’s beloved and acclaimed MY WOMAN, Olsen has refused to succumb to a single genre, expectation, or vision. Impossible to pin down, Olsen navigates the world with her remarkable, symphonic voice and a propensity for narrative, her music growing into whatever shape best fits to tell the story.
Phases is a collection of Olsen’s work culled from the past several years, including a number of never-before-released tracks. Fly On Your Wall, previously contributed to the Bandcamp-only, anti-Trump fundraiser Our First 100 Days, opens Phases, before seamlessly slipping into Special, a brand new song from the MY WOMAN recording sessions. Both How Many Disasters and Sans are first-time listens: home-recorded demos that have never been released, leaning heavily on Olsen’s arresting croon and lonesome guitar.
The b-sides compilation is both a testament to Olsen’s enormous musical range and a tidy compilation of tracks that have previously been elusive in one way or another. Balancing tenacity and tenderness, Phases acts as a deep-dive for longtime fans, as well as a fitting introduction to Olsen’s sprawling sonics for the uninitiated.
Tracklist:
- Fly On Your Wall
- Special
- Only You
- All Right Now
- Sans
- Sweet Dreams
- California
- Tougher Than the Rest
- For You
- How Many Disasters
- May as Well
- Endless Road