It’s been less than a year since the release of Angel Olsen’s last record All Mirrors, but that hasn’t slowed down the artist who will be releasing yet another record Whole New Mess via Jagjaguwar on August 28. Olsen also debuted the music video for its title track earlier today, directed by Ashley Conner.
“Whole New Mess” is a lot more stripped than her work on All Mirrors, as she is accompanied by only a single electric guitar and her melancholic voice throughout the song. The visual sees Olsen singing in front of a dark forest, capturing the isolation she expresses in the song.
Whole New Mess was recorded in The Unknown, a Catholic Church in Anacortes, Washington that was converted into a music studio by local musician Phil Elverum (the mastermind behind Mount Eerie) and producer Nicholas Wilbur. Her visit to Anacortes began in October of 2018, prior to the recording of All Mirrors. Nine of the eleven songs written for the album were featured on the previous record, but are reworked with their own unique way, retaining only skeletal similarities to the way they were originally presented.
“I hadn’t been to The Unknown, but I knew about its energy. I wanted to go sit with the material and be with it in a way that felt like a residency,” Olsen explained in a press release. “I didn’t need a lot, since it was just me and a guitar. But I wanted someone else there to hold me accountable for trying different things.”
Olsen has been keeping busy during the quarantine, releasing covers of Tom Petty, Roxy Music, Tori Amos and Bruce Springsteen during the past couple of months.
Whole New Mess track list
1. Whole New Mess
2. Too Easy (Bigger Than Us)
3. (New Love) Cassette
4. (We Are All Mirrors)
5. (Summer Song)
6. Waving, Smiling
7. Tonight (Without You)
8. Lark Song
9. Impasse (Workin’ For The Name)
10. Chance (Forever Love)
11. What It Is (What It Is)
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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