While initially well known for her acerbic, raw songwriting and lo-fi instrumentation than anything else, Angel Olsen’s 2016 “My Woman” pushed her into a more produced sonic world, and her new record “All Mirrors” blows the lid off her entire catalogue to craft an overwhelming, cinematic album of isolation, heartbreak, and recovery. Utilizing a 12 piece orchestra to bolster her intimate songwriting forward from the bedroom to a near-theatrical stage presence, Olsen has never been stronger than she is here, and sacrifices none of her lyricism at the cost of grander soundscapes: “Lark” opens the album with a recognition of a toxic relationship, “Too Easy” flirts with the desire to submit to a romantic interest, “Tonight” and its solitude are palpable. Best of all, lead single “All Mirrors” builds and climaxes multiple times through its run, a series of emotional epiphanies that are both devastating and affirming. There is a wonderful meeting of content and form on the entire album, and it is Olsen’s best work to date.
The New Pornographers triumphantly return with In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, a record concerned with modern societal anxiety involving politics, technology, and personal panics. While the record could be described as thematically “timely” (a positive or a negative depending on who you ask, particularly in a market flooded with artists’ responses to a Trump-lead America and rapid climate change), the song’s succeed due to their timeless sound: Neko Case’s front and center vocals on opener “You’ll Need a Backseat Driver” and “Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile” are warm yet biting like only she can be; “The Surprise Knock” and “You Won’t Need Those Where You’re Going” are humorous showcases for multi-instrumental harmony and A. C. Newman’s charisma; and the entire album at times feels like a jam session between old friends in the best possible way. Young at heart yet wise as its number of years, The New Pornographers deliver another winner.