Big Time cover

Big Time

Released

At some point, if you’re good enough, you pull into view of your heroes and start overtaking them. Olsen is shoulder-to-shoulder with Dusty Springfield and Tammy Wynette here, with lots of Seventies horns and pedal steel. She has a whiplash vibrato that she turns on and off, and can be both withering and completely vulnerable in the same line reading. Country breaks into a dozen American pieces and Angel Olsen is one of them.

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Almanac Behind cover

Almanac Behind

Daniel Bachman
Impersonator cover

Impersonator

Majical Cloudz
Madrid cover

Madrid

Nev Cottee
Keepsake cover

Keepsake

Elizabeth & the Catapult
Scott 4 cover

Scott 4

Scott Walker
The Wind cover

The Wind

Warren Zevon
Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie cover

Lindsey Buckingham/Christine McVie

Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie
Illuminations cover

Illuminations

Buffy Sainte-Marie
Sun cover

Sun

Cat Power