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It’s noon on a Monday, and Angel Olsen is on vacation in Folly Beach, North Carolina, a four-hour drive from her adopted home of Asheville. Soon she’ll embark on a tour that includes shows at Webster Hall and the Warsaw for her new album, My Woman, the follow-up to 2014’s much-touted Burn Your Fire for No Witness. The latter positioned Olsen as a critics’ darling and the face of a loosely termed “alt-indie folk” scene; this new record is a complex challenge to that notion, embracing less organic sounds and a poppier production. Over the phone we discuss the disarming, beautiful work that, like Olsen herself, defies easy categorization.
Do you wonder how people will interpret the songs on My Woman?
I’m sure a large percentage of my audience has misconstrued my art and projected something even more beautiful inside it. How could I try to correct that? It’s none of my business. I need to not spend time second-guessing my work, googling myself or checking articles about me. These beautiful conversations I have with journalists are belittled via a tacky headline. It hurts my feelings knowing we shared something that’s narrowed down to nothing. I’ll be ready to talk about that when I retire. Talk to me about what I’m reading, the election, where I am in life…
Where are you in life?
I’m approaching 30, embracing the ugliest angles of myself publicly. It’s not about ego, it’s about showing people how to do that for themselves. I’m confident when I move down the street. What people see is me wearing a wig in my video; they don’t look beyond to see me expose myself. People get caught up in tiny details.
How do you feel about turning 30 soon?
I’m getting ahead of myself, but this is a prime of my life. I feel relaxed in a way I didn’t when I was 25. You start appreciating friendships that have stayed with you instead of worrying about the right thing to wear to a party. I’m ready to laugh more. I was born January 22, and I never know what sign I am. People say I’m Aquarius, but I feel controlling like a Capricorn.
You’re a Capricorn trapped in an Aquarius realm.
Ha! Yes. Here I am, a Capricorn stuck in an Aquarius state. It’s so hard out here.
A fellow Capricorn, Dolly Parton, recently denounced the word feminism…
[Interrupting] I don’t like the word either. When we talk about human struggle, whether it be one of sexual preference, race or gender, those struggles are real and different. But when we’re caught up in individual struggles, we become more disconnected. I’m not afraid of being a feminist, but the main issue is about all humans; it’s deeper.
Do you feel responsibility to engage your audience in politics?
I don’t make art to be political. Susan Sarandon said something about not wanting to vote for [Hillary] Clinton. It sucks that people only heard her say everyone should vote [for] Trump, because that’s not what she was saying. She’s out there sharing her perspective in a way that might have ruined her career in her twenties. I hope to feel more comfortable talking about those things later in life.
Angel Olsen plays Webster Hall Saturday, September 17 and Warsaw Sunday, September 18. 8pm. $20.
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