Description
While the Asheville-based Olsen has always had a toe or two in the Americana world, her new album, Big Time, pushes through the dancehall doors.
The sadness on Big Time comes from just the place you’d expect – relationship trauma – and the beginning of the record deals with that, but from a place where she’s ready to say goodbye. The first track (and lead single), “All the Good Times” busts out the lap steel (courtesy of co-producer Jonathan Wilson) as Olsen picks up the best pieces of a busted relationship. The title cut, penned with Olsen’s partner, writer Adele Thibodeaux, is a dusty desert waltz paced by Spencer Cullum’s pedal steel. Instrumentation through the album also includes harpsichord and clavichord from Drew Erickson, soft percussion, bass and piano.
The sadness and grief on Big Time goes beyond dating woes – Olsen lost both of her parents within weeks of each other, and it happened shortly after coming out to them and introducing them to her partner.
BIG TIME beautifully reflects the fits and starts we all feel when trying to push through the fog of loss and grief. Olsen’s just able to write songs about that messy process better than most.
