Angel Olsen has announced plans to play Dublin's Vicar Street in support of her new album My Woman. The new album has proven to be a game changer for the artist, as it exposes the power of her voice even more than her previous 2013 album Burn Your Fire For No Witness. In this new album, she has created unique material with emotion, spunk and a sense of humour, with songs like "Intern" and "Shut Up Kiss Me."
Though the title of the album seems profoundly feminist, Olsen shies away from defining the album in strong political terms, wanting to leave the message of the album in the hands of her audience. "I'm definitely using scenes that I've replayed in my head, in the same way that I might write a script and manipulate a memory to get it to fit," she says. "But I think it's important that people can interpret things the way that they want to."
If there is any bit of a feminist message to the record, she says, "it's maybe the complicated mess of being a woman and wanting to stand up for yourself, while also knowing that there are things you are expected ... to ignore, almost, for the sake of loving a man. I'm not trying to make a feminist statement with every single record, just because I'm a woman. But I do feel like there are some themes that relate to that, without it being the complete picture."
The record is split into two parts, old-school style, with an A side and B side, with the peppier, more pop-like songs in the beginning before the record turns more pensive. Dividing the album in this way organises the unique range of styles that Olsen explores in the record, spanning from indie-pop to psychedelic soul. It was this eclectic combination of styles that motivated her to bring guest guitarist Seth Kauffman in on the project. Fans of Olsen will also be happy to hear that her old band members, bass player Emily Elhaj, drummer Joshua Jaeger and guitarist Stewart Bronaugh are also featured on the record. My Woman was recorded live to tape at LA's historic Vox Studios and produced by Justin Raisen, who has worked with Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira and Santigold.
Tickets for Olsen's Vicar Street gig on May 19 are priced at €22.90 and go on sale this Thursday, November 24 at 10am on Ticketmaster and other outlets.