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- #1
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:04
- Post subject: BEA's Year-End List #5: Burn Your Fire for No Witness
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Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen
Although some preferred her debut album, Angel Olsen's sophomore stint into lo-fi indie rock generated enough enthusiasm to climb to #5 in our rankings. In addition to the quotes below, you can check out the Dingerbell's thread for the 2014 album listening club.
| dividesbyzero wrote: | | Save for the title, the first track on "Burn Your Fire For No Witness" seems to suggest that Olsen is finding a balance between the lo-fi stylings of her debut EP "Strange Cacti" and the more clean sounding production of "Half Way Home". This of course leaves the listener totally unprepared for noisy, drum-heavy, drowned out vocals of "Forgiven/Forgotten", which sounds almost entirely unlike anything Olsen has recorded previously (much like... well, the entire album). "Burn Your Fire" is undoubtedly more stylistically varied that either Strange Cacti or Half Way Home; and while it does exhibit songs that would feel at home on either album, "Burn Your Fire" is a multi-directional departure from her usual sparse and focused acoustics; this isn't to say that Burn Your Fire lacks focus, but rather that it exhibits a stylistic versatility at which Olsen has hinted in the past, but which far exceeds any expectations we have held in regards to the extent of that versatility. There are still threads (particularly in the latter half of the album) that hold the album together such that it still feels like an Angel Olsen album (mainly for her very personal, expressive lyricism and unique vocal delivery, such as we have seen before), but as a whole, represents an Angel Olsen who is rapidly evolving as a songwriter and a musician in several directions at once, and who is succeeding massively at virtually every front |
| ButterThumbz wrote: | | Dead and yet still alive... Like Leonard Cohen! |
| RockyRaccoon wrote: | | Sometimes a person’s voice fits absolutely perfectly with the music they’re playing, and that’s the case with Angel Olsen and her new album “Burn Your Fire For No Witness”. It starts off kind of deceivingly, with a very lo-fi folk sound, but it transitions into a very full, well-produced sound, which I feel like signals a transition for Olsen from a lo-fi musician to a different, more rock-oriented musician. Lyrically, Olsen is very strong here, and lyrics are the main focus of a lot of the songs, just by the nature of the way they’re set up. A special highlight is the song “White Fire”, which sounds almost exactly like something Leonard Cohen would have written, the song will entrance you and you’ll never want it to end. The whole album is very impressive, the music is great, the instrumentation is meticulously placed, never too much and rarely too little. It’s a great album. |
| RepoMan wrote: | | gets better with every listen. |
| Dingerbell wrote: | | This was one of the first albums I heard this year, and is still my favourite. The album is simply brilliantly diverse. Its a lo-fi indie rock album in spirit, but there are clear influences from other genres- such as folk in White Fire (which is possibly the album's stand-out track) and Enemy, blues in Hi-Five and punk rock in Forgiven/Forgotten. However, the most obvious and interesting of Olsen's influences is psychedelic rock, with quite a few of the songs paying homage to the genre- most notably in Lights Out. These psychedelic sounds give the album a wonderfully thick and atmospheric vibe, which for a lo-fi album is a pretty notable. |
Last edited by sp4cetiger on 02/06/2015 17:08; edited 1 time in total
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Skinny
birdman_handrub.gif
- #2
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:07
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#5 - perfectly placed.
_________________
2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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craola
crayon master
Location: pdx 
- #3
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:32
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It's not my cup of tea personally, but I recognize it as a solid album nonetheless. Definitely not surprised to see it here. It fits the demographic.
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follow me on the bandcamp.
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- #4
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:33
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 Tension's building now. It's like watching a no hitter. Love this album.
#KeepTheStreak
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WindowAbove
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Location: Iowa
- #5
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:37
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This list got shitty quickly. I remember this being monotonous and annoyingly generic. I should listen again to see if my opinion will change.
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- #6
- Posted: 02/06/2015 17:57
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Angel is my favorite artist discovery of 2014 and this album is #2 on my year chart. I adore both of her albums, but I think the songwriting is a bit better in this one. Dbz's comment was spot on -- I can't wait to hear what she releases next.
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- #7
- Posted: 02/06/2015 18:14
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"unfucktheworld" is currently my jam. "forgiven/forgotten" is a close second. I tend to agree with the assessments that this album is a tad inconsistent, a tad monotonous at times and a bit front-loaded. But, whatever. This album still rules and "unfucktheworld" may be my favorite song of 2014 and "forgiven/forgotten" is one of my favorite retro 90s Indie rockers that I've heard in a while. "She's an indie rocker & nothing's gonna stop her. "
I love where this album placed.
edit: cheers to sp4cetiger for this fun, tantalizing unveiling. Kickass idea. Loving it.
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- #8
- Posted: 02/06/2015 18:40
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| RepoMan wrote: | | "unfucktheworld" is currently my jam. "forgiven/forgotten" is a close second. I tend to agree with the assessments that this album is a tad inconsistent, a tad monotonous at times and a bit front-loaded. But, whatever. |
The first half is fun, but the second half is just transcendent. "Dance Slow Decades" and "Stars" always have their swirly way with me.
| Quote: | | edit: cheers to sp4cetiger for this fun, tantalizing unveiling. Kickass idea. Loving it. |
No problem, I'm enjoying it too. It's interesting to hear the different perspectives on each album.
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alelsupreme
Awful.
Gender: Male
Age: 28
- #9
- Posted: 02/06/2015 19:45
- Post subject:
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| Skinny wrote: | | #5 - perfectly placed. |
Agreed.
_________________
| Romanelli wrote: | | We're all fucked, lads. |
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- #10
- Posted: 02/06/2015 20:25
- Post subject:
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| sp4cetiger wrote: | | Angel is my favorite artist discovery of 2014 and this album is #2 on my year chart. I adore both of her albums, but I think the songwriting is a bit better in this one. Dbz's comment was spot on -- I can't wait to hear what she releases next. |
Have you heard Strange Cacti? Despite it being an EP it's likely my favorite work she's done. Lyrically it's probably her strongest and the lo-fi production makes it feel so beautifully intensely personal
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