Today, Angel Olsen gestures beyond the lush world of last year’s Big Time with her new single, ‘Forever Means,’ the title track off her forthcoming EP out this Friday, April 14th on Jagjaguwar.
Originally written in 2019, ‘Forever Means’ was composed following the release of Olsen’s beloved All Mirrors and its re-imaginative follow up, Whole New Mess, with Olsen returning to the song throughout the Big Time sessions. Following Forever Means’ “eerie, queer, gothic, and perfect” (Paste) lead single ‘Nothing’s Free,’ ‘Forever Means’ swirls in sparse guitar and keys, with Olsen’s ever-emotive vocals guiding the track. Olsen comments, “I’d thought of it as a kind of nod to George Harrison, who I’d been getting back into during the pandemic as I was finally calming down and finding moments of peace with myself.”
Watch Angel Olsen’s “Forever Means” Visualizer
Last year’s Big Time brought Angel Olsen to a deeper, truer sense of self than ever before. Born from the twin stars of grief and love, the album delivered a beautiful sense of certainty, the sure-footed sound of an artist fully, finally at home with herself. But within that wisdom comes the realization that there is no finish line, no destination or static end point to life while you’re living it, and Forever Means collects songs from the Big Time sessions that hold this common theme. They are, in Olsen’s words, “in search of something else.” Co-produced and mixed by Jonathan Wilson, these are four precious songs from Olsen’s roads traveled and the one’s ahead.
Last month, Big Time was nominated for Libera Awards for Best American Roots Record and Best Sync Usage. Surrounding the album’s release, Olsen was profiled in The New Yorker, performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and collaborated with Sturgill Simpson to reimagine its title track. The album garnered Best of 2022 praise from a slew of publications, including the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Uproxx, The Ringer, Variety, Stereogum, Under The Radar, Paste, Inside Hook and more.
Watch “Nothing’s Free” Visualizer
Purchase/Stream Angel Olsen’s Big Time
Praise for “Nothing’s Free”:
“Slow gospel organ and piano chords, bluesy saxophone and patiently hand-played drumming sustain [Olsen] amid — and in a long closing instrumental, beyond — something that sounds both life-changing and inevitable” – New York Times
“’Nothing’s Free’ showcases what [Angel Olsen] does best: create space. For as soft as the song is, it’s equally intimidating in the way in which it takes its time, leaving plenty of room for big breaths and horn solos galore.” – Billboard
“‘Nothing’s Free,’ is an entrancing look at stepping away from the past and opening yourself up to who you really are. The track features a sound not yet heard in Olsen’s discography: the rich croons of a saxophone, which tie perfectly into the soulful sound crafted on Big Time.” – The AV Club
“It’s laidback, it’s jazzy, it’s ballad-like, it is pretty, it’s nuanced, I think it is one of her better low-key cuts in a very long time and kind of stunning, very emotionally potent as well.” – The Needle Drop
“‘Nothing’s Free’ is a swooning piano ballad steeped in jazz torch songs, classic pop, and retro soul.” – Stereogum, Best Songs of the Week
“Olsen and her band edge slowly along the abyss, melting like butter with each chord change.” – Consequence, Song of the Week
“[‘Nothing’s Free’] is its own elegant and strange cosmos. . . Olsen sings in a trembling, haunting octave glazed atop a jazz lounge-style piano with horns and organs surrounding her. It’s eerie, queer, gothic and perfect; the ultimate cocktail of grandeur from one of our greatest living songwriters.” – Paste, Best New Songs
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