All Mirrors, Angel Olsen
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Please Note: All views expressed here are the author’s own.
Angel Olsen tackles themes of love, taking a chance on it, losing it and expressing it on her fifth studio album, All Mirrors.
The St. Louis native is known for her fluid and lyrically thoughtful melodies coupled with indie and alternative influences. Released on Oct. 4, 2019, All Mirrors includes 11 songs and music from a 12 piece string section.
All Mirrors is different from Olsen’s other works. She is moving towards a dynamic composition of songs by incorporating strings in each piece. The violins throughout this album emphasize the value of her work and tell a story just as much as her words do. Her strategic use of drums, guitar and synthesizer layered on top of the string sections makes this one of her more unique projects.
This album immediately draws the listener in with the magnetic tone of her voice paired with her intriguing classical instrument set up. I immediately fell in love with the track “New Love Cassette,” I remember listening to the first couple seconds of this song and being completely mesmerized. The song is a daydream and includes a consistent beat and a powerful violin strum.
In her song “Endgame,” Olsen drags out and holds her raw voice in the verses, defining this track as an emotional ballad. Her raspy voice feels like a whisper in your ear. The combination of her drawn-out voice with the simmering symbols and vibrating piano notes portrays the romantic ambiance Olsen curated for this album.
After a close listen I can definitely say that this album is not one to skip out on. Her fluid and dreamy sound is complemented by her internally deep lyrics. Songs like “Tonight” and “Spring” showcase the romance of this album. At a closer look, her tracks also address self-love and ones drifting views of their own beauty. Olsen beautifully expresses the balance of accepting the way you feel with struggles of self-worth in her lyrics. Overall, if you are looking for something refreshing, breathtaking, and passionate, I highly suggest you give All Mirrors a listen.