Angel Olsen Takes Us on a Walk through Space and Time in 'All Mirrors'

by Simone Tranfaglia

Angel Olsen takes us on a walk through her subconscious into a cryptic unknown on her fifth album release, All Mirrors. She delivers a descent into darkness paralleled with a sense of transparency in this twelve song album; quite the change from her previous album, “Phases”. She drops her indie-rock, garage rock persona, and swaps that out with a celestial orchestra; giving the entire album a sense of floating in space. Each song feels like a snapshot of her subconscious in her internal tug-of-war of coming to peace with oneself and the enigmatic nature of opening up to love. 

Angel’s intent in this album is to bring the listener through the confining internal dialogue of finding one's place in the world and all the confusion that comes with that. She told Spotify, “Finding the capacity for new love and trusting change, even when you feel like a stranger. This is a record about facing yourself and learning to forgive what you see.” Angel describes the image she sees when looking into the mirror of her soul and coming to peace with all the insecurities she sees in that reflection, prompting the title, All Mirrors. 

Compared to her past work, Burn Your Fire for No Witness (2014), which holds a more folk-rock opus, Angel makes it evident in the 48 minutes of All Mirrors that she cannot be concealed in a box in terms of her music. In her song “Too Easy” she brings in a more dream-pop element in the album, “One could make me laugh forever/ Oh, I’d do anything for you.” Angel displays the bubbly feeling of emotions early in a relationship making the song familiar to anyone. She takes us through the many stages of love and growing up, making the entire album a notably cathartic experience. She completely changes tracks with “Impasse” where the orchestra comes breaking through the encompassing dark shrouded synths; it gives the listener the sense of being drowned under the orchestral sea that is her 14 piece orchestra provides. The whole album tends to release then pullback, making the album experience a rollercoaster of emotional synths. All Mirrors makes it evident that no one else owns the queen of folk-goth persona better than she.

Originally, Angel recorded this album as an Anacortes session before linking with Ben Babbitt and Jherek Bischoff (with productions by John Congleton) to produce the theatrical second album with the orchestra. She was going to release both albums simultaneously, however, has held back the first version.

In the weeks following the album’s release, the critical response has been exponential. Her dramatic shift in her sound makes this one of her most personal albums yet. Pitchfork, responded giving the album an 8.9 according to their reviewing criteria. Additionally, Rolling Stones did not hide their enthusiasm for this record saying, “It ranks among the best sounding records this year, deserving to be cranked on a good sound system- an album to spend time with, to fall into, to shut up and let yourself be kissed by.” Angel did not hold back, All Mirrors theatrical orchestra sounds parallels with complex emotions and versatile sonic synths, makes this her most powerful album yet.  

Regardless of how different this album is compared to her past work, it gives precedence that she can do it all. Angel Olsen not only impressed me with its pliable celestial sonic synths mixed with a theatrical orchestra in formulation with the songs but creates a 48-minute story through her emotions. Angel’s transparency in this album creates an extremely personal relationship between the listener and her. It emerges the feeling of looking into a peephole of her subconscious, watching the internal dialogue she endures facing All Mirrors.