Angel Olsen

Angel Olsen is an American singer-songwriter and musician from St. Louis, Missouri, born in 1987. Beginning as a solo folk act, Olsen has evolved over the course of six studio albums into one of the most artistically restless and acclaimed figures in contemporary indie music, moving fluidly between minimalist folk, country, glam rock, and orchestral pop while maintaining a distinctive emotional intensity. Half Way Home (2012), her debut full-length on Bathetic Records, introduced her intimate, bare-bones approach. Burn Your Fire for No Witness (2014), produced by John Congleton and released on Jagjaguwar, brought her to wide critical attention — a more fully realised record that balanced quiet introspection with louder, driving rock passages. Strange Cacti, My Woman (2016) was widely celebrated as a breakthrough, its side-long dive into rock, country, and orchestrated pop demonstrating the full range of her ambition. Pitchfork named it one of the best albums of the decade. All Mirrors (2019) marked another transformation — a dramatic, orchestrated record of gothic grandeur, co-produced with John Congleton, that received some of the strongest reviews of her career. Whole New Mess (2020), an acoustic companion to All Mirrors, showed the songs in their most stripped form. Big Time (2022) brought a warmer country and classic rock influence inspired by personal grief following her parents' deaths. Olsen is openly queer and has become a visible figure in conversations about identity in independent music. Her live performances are considered among the most emotionally powerful in indie rock.