Burn Your Fire For No Witness will be the next album from vocal powerhouse Angel Olsen and her first release on Jagjaguwar.
The Chicago based singer/songwriter has been gaining notoriety over the last few years, first playing alongside Will Oldham aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy before transitioning to her own releases. Strange Cacti, a tape release recorded in her kitchen, gave us the first sample of her vast vocal range and deeply introspective lyrics. Olsen‘s first LP, Half Way Home, came in 2012 on Bathetic Records. She delivered more highly produced tracks while maintaining her signature sound, complete with almost-yodels and tremolo effects.
The latest track and first from Burn Your Fire For No Witness, “Forgiven/Forgotten”, takes a detour from her previous sound, veering most closely to her 2013 7″ Sleepwalker. Olsen‘s vocals, the driving force on Half Way Home, blend into the garage rock guitar and bass, which are a new addition in themselves. Even with the addition of instruments, no sound rises to top, creating an uncharacteristic blanket of noise. Overall the track is louder and grungier than what we’ve heard in recent years. We’ll find out on February 18, 2014 if that sound caries through the full album.