Angel Olsen

By Kinga Mozes

Under swooping crystal garlands, Angel Olsen’s haunting voice left no one untouched at First Avenue on November 12. She gazed out at the crowd under chunky winged eyeliner with a serene expression, comfortably lost in the complex emotions of her music. Yet somehow, as she was transfixed in her memories, she reached deep, provoking our own buried reflections on love. 

The opening band, Vagabon, deserves an appreciative nod, their sound characterized by refined production and the raspiness of their lead singer, Laetitia Tamko.

Olsen’s performance was powered by versatility. Each note was purposeful and the band was a set of interacting parts guided under her steady hand. A transcendent violin and cello accompaniment swelled with the stage lights shifting from red to white on the opener, “Lark.” An urging nod exchanged with her guitarist led to a spontaneous duet in mutual anger on the track “Impasse.” She held her own on “Acrobat,” her voice displaying its astonishing instrumental elements with a ringing operatic quality. 

Throughout the show, Olsen switched seamlessly between electric guitar and piano, balancing her somber lyrics with witty interactions with the audience between songs. She laughed off someone who shouted, “I love you, Angel,” blushing as she said it back.  

Olsen mostly played songs from her newest album, “All Mirrors,” but she squeezed in a few older crowd favorites, such as “Shut Up Kiss Me,” that had every bespectacled hipster awkwardly dancing.

This performance was a defining moment in Olsen’s career, and those of us who were in the audience hope she flies to the Twin Cities again soon.