Listen to Angel Olsen once and, without really thinking too hard about it, you’ll listen again. At first quiet, bare, and lovely, “Burn Your Fire for No Witness” unfolds like a good conversation, with a voice that resounds through your bones and stays there. It’s the kind of album that is to be heard as a whole, and is best in the car, at night.Now at home in Asheville, North Carolina, Angel began in Chicago when her first EP “Strange Cacti” was picked up by the then-local (now also Asheville-based) Bathetic Records. After touring with the formidable Will Oldham and his Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie band, she released her second album, “Half Way Home” in 2012. And now, touring her second full album “Burn Your Fire for No Witness,” Angel has acquired her own bassist and drummer and a ton of attention.
Angel brought musician and friend Kevin Morby to our office before their LA show later that night. With a polyps surgery the next day (if you didn’t know either, it has to do with vocal chords), this show would be Kevin’s last for awhile – he was formerly the bassist of Woods and co-founder/guitarist of The Babies before transplanting to LA and starting a solo career. The two, joined by Angel’s bassist Emily Elhaj, talked about quitting music lessons as children, rollerskating as adults, and the strangeness of the media spotlight.
The Fat Angel Sings 