Wow … I can’t believe I’ve reached this point. This is a milestone I only imagined I would reach. My fifth album review!

Okay, but jokes aside, thank you to everyone who has followed my blog, commented on my posts, liked my posts, or even just taken the time to look at my website. I really appreciate the support.

Alright, so … before listening to Angel Olsen’s new album, Big Time, I had never listened to an Angel Olsen album, but I was curious to check out this album, and I’m so glad that I did, because I absolutely love it!

This album is very mellow, and at times it feels very symphonic. And while I listen to a lot of music, I haven’t been listening to this much music for all that long, so I know there are probably a ton of albums I haven’t heard that are quite well-known and are much more accurate comparisons to Big Time … however, I’m still going to mention that elements of this album feel somewhat similar to Spellling’s 2021 album, The Turning Wheel, which, by the way, is one of my favourite albums from last year. If you haven’t heard that album, and you have the time, I highly recommend that you listen to it … it’s beyond incredible! And while I don’t think Big Time is as great as The Turning Wheel, both albums have some (kind of) similar moments instrumentally, which work super well for both. (Considering this is my fifth review, I don’t really know how to describe it well.) And don’t get me wrong, I still think Big Time is a great album!

When I mention the symphonic elements, one example is the song, “All The Flowers”. This is a super emotional track that I absolutely love. Angel gives a great vocal performance on this song, and the strings work so well!

“Go Home” is a great song with lots of shifts in the instrumental that sound absolutely fantastic! Angel’s vocals on this track are incredible, and I love that chorus!

“Through The Fires” is a haunting track with an amazing vocal performance from Angel, beautiful pianos, and strings that add so much to the track! I also love the way this song builds, and overall, it’s a fantastic song!

But even the title track, which is much simpler, is a good song in my opinion. It just feels nice to listen to.

“Dream Thing” is a super well-written and well-produced track with great vocals and some small details that add so much, like the pianos.

Honestly, with this being my fifth review, I don’t think I’m at the point where I can go into too much detail with my reviews yet, and this is an album that I don’t have a ton to say about at the moment, but that’s part of what works so well here in my opinion … this album has so many emotional moments that are still so simple and somehow find that balance.

And some moments are harder for me to break down lyrically, like the closer, “Chasing The Sun”, but I still love the lyrics on this track. It paints a picture while still being mysterious. And, of course, I have to mention the beautiful pianos on this track, as well as Angel Olsen’s vocals, which are also amazing here. It’s such a great way to end the album!

I think my biggest criticism of this album is the vocal melodies … at times, they’re really good, and at times, I don’t think the melody makes much of a difference, but there are quite a few points here where it really feels like it’s missing a better vocal melody. But that’s just me.

Overall, this album didn’t give me a ton to say, but I still wanted to review it, because it was worth a try.

This album is very mellow, and I understand why some might find it boring, but for me, this is an 8/10. Fantastic album!

By the way, another reason this review is so short is because I’m trying to put out more reviews over the next five days or so … I have another one I’ve started, and we’ll see if I can put out another after that. No guarantees for any of this, but I hope to have more reviews out soon.

Anyway, let me know in the comments what you thought of this album (if you want to), and with that, thanks for reading!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 8/10
Favourite Tracks: Dream Thing, All The Flowers, Right Now, Go Home, Through The Fires, Chasing The Sun
Least Favourite Tracks: This Is How It Works