A few weeks ago, Angel Olsen announced Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories, a box set that features her two latest albums, 2019’s All Mirrors and 2020’s Whole New Mess (which were once intended to be released together as a double album), as well as a collection of bonus tracks, Far Memory. Some of the songs on Far Memory are actually alternate versions of tracks from the aforementioned albums, like Olsen’s latest, “Alive And Dying (Waving, Smiling),” an orchestral version of the Whole New Mess highlight “Waving, Smiling.”
Olsen says of the track, “This song is all about chapters closing, and learning to let go of things I can’t understand. It’s very me — I will always nosedive into love, and suffering can definitely come with that. When I hear this version the strings really bring the song to its necessary bittersweet boiling point.”
She also says of Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories more broadly, “It feels like part of my writing has come back from the past, and another part of it was waiting to exist.”
Listen to “Alive And Dying (Waving, Smiling)” above.
Song Of The Lark And Other Far Memories is out 5/7 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.
