The year could not have started in a better way – we are happy to welcome Chicago’s Angel Olsen to our EU/UK roster!

Some have described Angel’s music as haunting, others as uniquely natural, but whatever the individual take on her songs may be – they command the listeners attention. Laced with vintage reverb, simple chord progressions, and abstract lyrical content, her songs are a testament to the lasting effect and popularity of classic song structures. Her voice, the focal point of most recordings, contains sincerity, power, and a unique vulnerability necessary to balance out her sound.

Most recently, Olsen has worked with Will Oldham and also ‘The Cairo Gang’ which is lead by Chicago mover and shaker, Emmett Kelly. She toured extensively with the band in the Summer and Fall of 2010 (San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival just being one of the stops) and has been featured on Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s 2011 vinyl release, Island Brothers and later on Wolfroy Goes To Town  (Drag City.)

Fans have been anticipating a solo album on vinyl for some time and in March 2011 Bathetic Records released Olsen’s sold out cassette of original material Strange Cacti on 12″ with reinterpreted artwork. As the tone of Angel’s music suggests, there is an unguarded, ebb and flow to her sound. Sounds that, with our environment in regard, will only grow and evolve.

Tiniest Lights from Randy Sterling Hunter on Vimeo.

”Inspired by multilingual chanteuse and heartbreaker Dalida, and gran with attitude Malvina Reynolds, her songs are beautiful whether they’re saying ‘Fuck You’ or whispering ‘I’ll Always Love You’.” - Neu Magazine‘

‘Angel’s voice is nary in a stagnant note–embodying the vocal variety of Joni Mitchell, the morose candor of Françoise Hardy; though not singing but studdering, staggering, an angst-stricken woman stammers through the song until a defiant end.” - Ryan Ellis, Weekly Tape Deck & Altered Zones