Angel Olsen announced a new album, Big Time, due out June 3 via Jagjaguwar (pre-order on pink vinyl). She recorded and mixed it with co-producer Jonathan Wilson, with longtime bandmate Emily Elhaj on bass and Drew Erickson on piano, organ, and string arrangements. A press release explains the fraught timing of the album's recording, which began weeks after the death of her parents:
Big Time is an album about the expansive power of new love, written during the time Olsen was coming out as queer, and having her first experience of queer love and heartbreak. But this brightness and optimism is tempered by a profound and layered sense of loss. During Olsen’s process of coming to terms with her queerness and confronting the traumas that had been keeping her from fully accepting herself, she felt it was time to come out to her parents, a hurdle she’d been avoiding for some time. “Some experiences just make you feel as though you’re five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are,” she writes of that time. After that tearful but relieving conversation, she celebrated with her partner, their friends, oysters, and wine. “Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me.” Three days later, her father died; his funeral became the occasion for Olsen to introduce her partner to her family. Only two weeks later Olsen got the call that her mother was in the ER. Hospice came soon after, and a second funeral came quickly on the heels of the first. Another trip back to St. Louis, another grief to face, another deepening and intensification of this still-new love. Three weeks after her mother’s funeral she was in the studio, recording this incredibly wise and tender new album, Big Time.
The first single is the gorgeous "All The Good Times," a soaring track with a heartland rock feel. Watch the video, starring Olsen and her partner, and directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, below. "Angel’s story is a gift," Stuckwisch says. "It allowed me to visually explore the universal themes of love, loss, and most importantly what holds us back from realizing our true selves."
Talking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 about the song, Angel said, "I will say originally I wrote this song in 2017, 2018 when I was on tour. I was trying to get Sturgill Simpson to sing it. I was trying to sell it, give it to people. I was like, "Who would want to sing this?" And eventually I started writing more songs that were kind of along the same lines or sort of kin to it, from the record. And I thought, maybe it's time to embrace the fact that I'm not afraid to embrace these roots and to embrace where I live and how it's affected me, and to embrace just a minimal feeling, and to just be straight up about stuff."
Angel is going on the Wild Hearts Tour with Sharon Van Etten and Julien Baker, and support from Spencer., this summer, and she's added a new NYC date, happening on August 20 at SummerStage in Central Park, the day before the tour-ending August 21 show at the same venue. Tickets to the new date go on sale Friday, April 1 at 10 AM, with various presales starting Wednesday, March 30 at 10 AM. See all dates below.
Angel Olsen - Big Time
ANGEL OLSEN - BIG TIME TRACKLIST 1. All the Good Times 2. Big Time 3. Dream Thing 4. Ghost On 5. All The Flowers 6. Right Now 7. This Is How It Works 8. Go Home 9. Through The Fires 10. Chasing The Sun
ANGEL OLSEN: 2022 TOUR Thu. Jul. 21 - Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap Center For the Performing Arts * Fri. Jul. 22 - Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit * Sat. Jul. 23 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium * ^ Mon. Jul. 25 - Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater * Thu. Jul. 28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre * Fri. Jul. 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre * Sat. Jul 30 - Berkeley, Ca @ Greek Theatre * Tu. Aug. 2 - Troutdale, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater * Wed. Aug. 3 - Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater * Fri. Aug. 5 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Garden * Sat. Aug. 6 - Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA * Sun. Aug. 7 - Denver, CO @ Sculpture Park * Tue. Aug. 9 - Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festival Field * Wed. Aug 10 - Chicago, IL @ TBA * Thu. Aug. 11 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe * Fri. Aug. 12 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall * ^ Sat. Aug. 13 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall * ^ Mon. Aug. 15 - Shelburne, VT @ The Green at Shelburne Museum * Tue. Aug. 16 - LaFayette, NY @ Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards * Thu. Aug. 18 - Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion * Fri. Aug. 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Skyline Stage at The Mann * Sat. Aug. 20 - New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage * Sun. Aug. 21 - New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage * Mon. Sept. 26 - Lisbon, PT @ Capitólio Tue. Sept. 27 - Lisbon, PT @ Capitólio Thu. Sept. 29 - Madrid, ES @ La Riviera Fri. Sept. 30 - Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo Sat. Oct. 1 - Lyon, FR @ L' Epicerie Moderne Sun. Oct. 2 - Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten Tue. Oct. 4 - Munich, DE @ Freiheitshalle Wed. Oct. 5 - Vienna, AT @ WUK Thu. Oct. 6 - Warsaw, PL @ Palladium Fri. Oct. 7 - Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Sun. Oct. 9 - Stockholm, SE @ Berns Mon. Oct. 10 -Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Tue. Oct. 11 - Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Thu. Oct. 13 - Cologne, DE @ Gloria Fri. Oct 14 - Paris, FR @ Bataclan Sat. Oct 15 - Leuven, BE @ Het Depot Sun Oct 16 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tue. Oct. 18 - London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton Wed. Oct. 19 - Bath, UK @ The Forum Thu. Oct. 20 - Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall Fri. Oct. 21 - Manchester , UK @ Albert Hall Mon. Oct 24 - Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
* = The Wild Hearts Tour co-headline with Sharon Van Etten, Julien Baker, with special guest Spencer. ^= no Spencer.
