Angel Olsen
All Mirrors
Jagjaguwar
Buy Here | Listen Below
The synth is dead, long live the synth.
There seems to be a trend at the moment of pop artists trying to make the ‘80s sound better than the ‘80s did, and succeeding. All Mirrors jumps headfirst down the rabbit hole and finds all sorts of wonders there. The album blends delicious string and synthesizer arrangements with off-beat, often outright audacious songwriting to produce something wholly new and fresh, if ever so slightly disjointed. Angel Olsen guides affairs with delicate purpose, and I think the result is one of 2019’s strongest records.
There’s a lot of sounds jostling for space on All Mirrors. There are shades of Kate Bush, Lana Del Rey, and St. Vincent. Even the Beatles and Jonny Greenwood’s orchestral arrangements on Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool (2016) come to mind at times. Olsen doesn’t shy away from dreamy effects, and those effects almost always enhance the album’s focus rather than soften it.
For all the old masters Olsen echoes during the album’s 49-minute runtime, this is unquestionably her sound. Shivering strings dance with feather-light synthesizers, which make way for her vocals whenever she breaks the surface and turns up the noise. It’s a luscious, delightful trip. A huge shoutout must go to Ben Babbitt, who is responsible for a hefty chunk of the instrumentation.
“New Love Cassette” and the title track arguably showcase the album’s formula best. Both practically sneak up on you, Olsen bobbing along above the arrangements before breaking into soaring crescendos. The peaks are almost operatic, explosive in their suddenness. The All Mirrors sound is nothing if not elegant, but it knows how to flex its muscles as well.
The variety goes further in the album’s second half. “Summer” is a welcome change of pace, its marching drum beat and guitars a nod to Olsen’s folk roots. In the closing tracks, she slips a few decades further back still. The noir-like “Endgame” and big band homage “Chance” close things out splendidly. It’s impressive how seamless this combination (generally) feels, as it doesn’t really have any right to work at all.
The worst thing I can say about All Mirrors is some of its tracks fall short of the standards set by the rest of the album. Compared to their peers, the likes of “Tonight” and “Impasse” are slightly lacking. Not that I think that will be a common consensus. This seems like the kind of album where favorite tracks will vary depending on the listener. Practically all of them hold their own and offer something unique.
Whatever qualms I have about All Mirrors are comfortably outweighed by the pleasure I’ve taken in listening to it. Olsen’s vocals are gorgeous, the mix is great, the arrangements are even better, and the songwriting is imaginative and powerful. It’s a really, really great album and it deserves your time. As someone new to Olsen’s work, I’m excited to hear more.
Notable Tracks: "All Mirrors" | “Endgame” | "New Love Cassette"
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