Last month, indie darling Angel Olsen, who released a cover EP last year, returned with the announcement of her next album Big Time, which was written during a tumultuous period in her life after coming out as queer and grieving the death of her parents. However, the lead single, “All The Good Times,” feels weightless and grateful. The title track is out today, and radiates similar energy, swaying with a jaunty, country twang and containing a wholesome hook: “I’m loving you big time.”
The music video that comes along with the song has the same old-school atmosphere as the sound. Director Kimberly Stuckwisch said about the video:
‘Big Time,’ we set out to celebrate how humans identify and to subvert the old-fashioned gender binary and societal/internalized gender roles of the past through choreography, color, and wardrobe. To exist outside strict definitions is powerful and often not given a place in cinema. This was our chance to hold a positive reflection in the space and to shout to the world that you are more than who you are told to be.
‘Big Time’ is what happens when we do not express our true identity but find freedom when we step out of the shadows into our most authentic selves. In the first rotation, the lighting is drab, the clothes are monochromatic, the dance is monotonous . . . gender-conforming roles present. However, with each rotation, something magical happens, both our cast and Angel begin to come alive, to feel free. We see the clothes brighten, the dance heightens, and the bar that was once devoid of emotion can barely contain the joy bursting out of each individual.
I am proud to say that over 80% of our cast and 50% of our crew identified as nonbinary and non-gender conforming.
Watch the video above.
Big Time is out 6/3 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.