The Brian Eno album Angel Olsen called “life-changing”
Studying the musical greats is always an interesting endeavour. Some artists resonate immediately, making you grateful to have discovered their work. Others may take longer to appreciate, only clicking when you hear their music one day and realise it cuts deeper than you initially thought. For Angel Olsen, one such artist took a while to get under her skin, but when they did, Brian Eno changed everything.
Olsen’s upbringing was largely plugged into the musical punk scene, which led to her wanting to create her own rock music. Her earlier dreams to become a pop star were quickly cast aside in favour of a more edgy route, one which combined the heavier sensibilities of noise music with the accessible formulas of pop. It’s this nature that placed her perfectly within the sad girl movement, whose songs endearingly chart the trials and tribulations of love, heartbreak, and breakups.
‘Unfucktheworld’, for instance, is one of the genre’s quintessential breakup songs, possibly due to the fact that the singer wrote it in just two minutes. The piece is both tragic and hopeful, capturing the very essence of parting ways with someone who once meant the world to you. “I was at a point where I had to make a choice between their sadness and mine,” Olsen told The Line of Best Fit. “It was that thing where you’re in a relationship, and you just can’t pass the torch anymore.”
Because of her authentic approach, it’s easy to see why many of Olsen’s influences are ones she clicked with immediately. For example, she describes Donny Hathaway as someone with “a spiritual, soulful vibe, as though he cultivated his talents in church”. She also told Billboard that Bettye Swann has a voice “like an organ,” one “that acts as a huge percussive instrument”.
Some of Olsen’s other favourites, on the other hand, took a while before finding their way into her heart. One such artist was Brian Eno and his album Here Come the Warm Jets. The reason for the delay wasn’t the fact that Olsen didn’t enjoy the music; rather, she usually prefers to discover things on their own, as that way, connecting feels a lot more organic.
As she explained: “People always try to push albums on you, but I’m stubborn; I like to discover on my own.” Noting her initial instinct about the musician, she continued, “I knew one day Brian Eno would make sense to me.” Adding, “One day, he did. I drove around Asheville with the windows down and cried to this album. That was life-changing.”
Olsen’s appreciation for Eno’s debut album makes sense, partly due to its blend of glam and pop but mostly because of its layered lyricism, which merges notes of poignancy and darkness with subtle humour, creating a complex yet endearing listener experience. Someone as skilled as Olsen knows all too well the power of relatable narratives, so it’s likely that Here Come the Warm Jets felt a lot like cynicism, comfort, realism, and romanticism all wrapped in one.
