The Fat Angel Sings

After spending her formative years with Bathetic Records, where she released two albums and a couple of singles – amongst them her two years old breakthrough record Half Way Home – Angel Olsen recently signed with Jagjaguwar. Not exactly a shocker, since the label has a habit of picking up talented, unconventional, folky acts at just the right moment. Sharon Van Etten’s decisive transformation between the Ba Da Bing released Epic and her Jagjaguwar debut Tramp, is one of several fine examples, and perhaps the most obvious comparison when discussing Olsen. Even more so than Van Etten, the leap Olsen has taken between Half Way Home and Burn Your Fire For No Witness is striking, but not surprising. As reported numerous times before, she previously toured with Bonnie “Prince” Billy as part of his backing band The Babblers, where she screamed punk rock covers of Kevin Coyne and Dagmar…