‘Lark’: How Angel Olsen channelled Patti Smith for her masterpiece
While some songs flow out of an artist’s pen with ease, seemingly writing themselves, others need a little more attention. Sometimes, a composition requires a musician to sit with it, to take the time to figure it out and to ensure that it reaches its full potential. If you ever find yourself presented with one of those enigmatic tracks, Angel Olsen has some advice to offer. Simply ask yourself, “What would Patti Smith do?” and you just might write a modern indie classic.
During the process of writing her fourth studio record, All Mirrors, Olsen was presented with one of those stubborn songs. She was in the midst of penning ‘Lark’, a six-minute tale of troubles with the heart that would go on to become the album’s opener when she began to struggle with her songwriting direction.
Olsen’s issue with ‘Lark’ wasn’t a lack of direction. Instead, she was overwhelmed by how many directions the song could take. “I wasn’t even sure if it was one song,” she explained during a conversation with The Line of Best Fit, “because it sounded like three different songs.” Even in the ‘Lark’s final form, that splintering is evident. The track refuses to adhere to any real structure, forgoing traditional verses and choruses to prioritise emotion and drama.
The first third of the runtime builds to a climax, as Olsen declares, “What about old times? You can’t erase them,” before the song devolves into something new entirely. Her voice and instrumentation softens as she details regret and forgiveness throughout the middle of the song. As ‘Lark’ comes to a conclusion, Olsen repeats the words “Dream on,” over cinematic strings. It’s completely unpredictable.
Overwhelmed by the song’s complexity, Olsen initially struggled to make it work. It was only when she leaned into the unpredictability of the song, channelling her punk poet predecessor, that ‘Lark’ really began to take shape. “I sort of tried to channel Patti Smith,” Olsen explained, “Like, what would Patti Smith do in a scenario like this? I think she would just make it into a song, right?”
Empowered by Smith’s spirit, she allowed herself to write in a new way and decided to view ‘Lark’ as more of a play than a song. By giving into the will of ‘Lark’, she was able to create a modern masterpiece, an entry into the indie rock genre unlike any other. Uncontained by traditional songwriting, she was able to afford ‘Lark’ all the dramatic space it desired.
Revisit ‘Lark’ by Angel Olsen below.
