Whole New Mess - Angel Olsen: Review
is an Asheville, North Carolina based indie singer-songwriter who blew up in 2016 with her My Woman album. She followed this record up in 2019 with All Mirrors a grander and more instrumentally rich statement. Whole New Mess was recorded before All Mirrors and and features many of the same composition in earlier form and with stripped backed instrumentation.
Review By Lavender:
I was excited about this record despite the fact that I am pretty familiar with most of the material here in a more full capacity. I enjoy so much of Angel's catalog including All Mirrors as well as some of her early material with a more lo-fi slant. So Whole New Mess was an exciting prospect but now that it's here I find that most of these tracks work better in the full form.
Of the 11 tracks here only two of them are entirely new compositions and they were both released as singles beforehand. Whole New Mess is the opening track and lead single and I'm not a huge fan of it. The track just has a really slow pace and not nearly enough instrumental progression or versatility to make it worthwhile, it has some moments but not my favorite. The other single was an improvement Waving, Smiling features some absolutely incredible vocals from Angel. The instrumentation is simple but it's enough and the song never falls into a routine and stays enjoyable throughout.
A few of these tracks sound just as good and one even better than the original versions. Too Easy is a shorter track but the final minute or so is immaculate. Angel is giving it her all with the vocals and the lo-fi recording only makes it sound more strained and triumphant. The song also carries on without missing a beat compositionally for a highlight. We Are All Mirrors is a version of one of my favorite songs of 2019 and I think it is pretty good even with the runtime cut in half. The different format brings an equally satisfying take on the song. The great songwriting at the core persists and Angel pulls off another wonderfully passionate performance. Lark Song is much like it's AM counterpart as one of the loudest songs here and I feel pretty good about the songs compositional contrast. It is once again the longest song on the record but I'm comfortable with it and the track works. The one track that I feel like is actually improved this time around is Impasse, which isn't one of my favorite songs on All Mirrors but is a major highlight here. This version feels so much more raw and compelling and the songs final moments in particular see Angel calling out into space in a way that is just so compelling and I think this is the song that has benefitted the most from this format.
A couple of tracks that I enjoyed on AM haven't lived up to this format. New Love Cassette fails to stand out once again as I don't find the composition any more rewarding and the slick guitar lines have much less bite here when you can't make them out as clearly. Summer was one of my favorite songs but it doesn't quite hold up here. Like a lot of the more lowkey tracks I think a lot of the songs nuance is lost in the recording especially with the instrumental. Angel still performs perfectly and the structure is rewarding but I would much rather listen to the album version. Tonight doesn't do much for me once again with the progression being really slight in a way that feels almost nonexistent. The song is one of the only points on either record that feels boring by the time it's done. Chance actually has a pretty decent instrumental made up entirely of some sweet acoustic guitar. This time I think the songwriting is a let down because the highs don't hit nearly as high as it feels like they should. Part of this is the trudging build and part if that Angel doesn't deliver quite the same vocals here as I would expect from her in the songs most dramatic moments. Finally the closing track What It Is is not really that great of a final moment. It is a somewhat energetic but short indie rock piece that Angel seems to put a bit of a southern twang on through her performance. It isn't a terrible song just a really weird ending.
Whole New Mess has its moments but most of these songs are better on her record last year and the two new compositions are split 50/50. While this is a moment that Angel Olsen fans will find a lot to like about it is hardly the statement that her two previous records are. 6/10
