by Angel Olsen
Released June 3, 2022 via Jagjaguwar
Reviewed June 14, 2022
Top tracks (based on community voting)
Through The Fires (56%), All The Good Times (44%), All The Flowers (38%)
On Angel Olsen’s eighth album, the North Carolina-based singer-songwriter delivers her twangiest record yet. Finding its footing in Americana and traditional pop, a bittersweet tenderness reverberates throughout Big Time with each pluck of a string and every snare hit. It feels like there has been a surge of artists infusing country into their sound, within both mainstream circles and indie ones; Olsen’s upbringing being spent in the Midwest and the South—split between St. Louis and Chicago before her relocation to Asheville—certainly plays a key role in her ability to pull it off so well. A gifted songwriter throughout her career, Big Time is another excellent display of how to capture complicated and seemingly conflicting emotions in song. Olsen finds herself both pensive and melancholic, yet consistently grounded while reflecting on the life-altering changes that come with heartbreak. Big Time has a deep sense of longing throughout; its sparse, yet dense, instrumentation only adds to that feeling, as Olsen offers up what might be her most personal work yet. – Dominick (9/10)
Dominick: 9/10 | Pax: 9/10 | Cam: 7.5/10 | DeVán: 7/10 | Jared: 7/10
Community Reviews:
The first songs, released as singles, perfectly coincide with the release date; the smooth instrumentals—peppered with string instruments complementing the warm acoustic guitar and beautiful drum patterns— evoke summer in a beautiful way. The entire album feels exactly like a summer of heartbreak should. The atmosphere is one of the sun climbing to its zenith, with the narrator basking in its glory while longingly strumming a guitar, singing melancholic ballads, and reminiscing about their ex-lover. The album develops throughout, diving deeper into the themes of detachment and grief as a manifestation of love, rather than its opposite. – @mme.rieux (8.3/10)
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