Altered Zones

It's been a while since we heard Angel Olsen's splendid vocal work. It's a voice that is at once tragic and anxious, but sweet and posh. It's a voice you may fall for with each listen. Luckily, her songwriting ability is also notable; the combination of the two plays like a heartbroken Judy Garland consoling herself by singing Tom Waits songs. "In The Morning" comes courtesy of the Twosyllable Records Chicago Compilation, and you guessed it, all the artists are from Chi-town. Twosyllable actually refers to this as a "mixtape" but it has passion-project written all over it. A good example is the intimate write-up from one of the owners of the label. If you do anything, read it. Also, if you've never seen Yours Truly's private musical portrait of Angel, please watch. Note how reticent she is at first, but blooms through the song. --Ryan Ellis, Weekly Tape Deck

MP3: Angel Olsen: "In The Morning"

Chicago Compilation is available in cassette and digital formats from Twosyllable Records

Bathetic is a label that continuously puts out new artists on the brink of a musical and artistic divergence. Angel Olsen is their newest treat and I'm completely numbed by the song they've sent us. "Creator, Destroyer" is a shattering and tearful ballad hummed along in an almost too intimate embrace. Angel's bella voce embodies the vocal flexibility of Joni Mitchell and the morose candor of Françoise Hardy-- not singing but stuttering and staggering to a defiant, triumphant end.

MP3: Angel Olsen: "Creator, Destroyer"

Strange Cacti cassette is available now on Bathetic