If you know the music of Angel Olsen, you know she feels and communicates emotion deeply. Across six albums, we’ve heard her lay it all on the line. Or at least, we thought we had. Big Time is Angel’s most raw and personal record to date. And with good reason. It was recorded in a time of great love, grief, and change for Angel. At 34, she met a new partner and came out as queer to her parents. Days later, her father died. A few weeks later, her mother also passed. Three weeks after that funeral, Angel Olsen went in to record Big Time.

Five years ago, Angel joined me to Take 5 with songs that kept her grounded. This time, we met with a world of change between us. And with that gamut of emotion, and the very stripped back sounds of her new record, I wanted to hear songs that for her captured the full spectrum. From Chris Bell to Laurie Anderson to John Cale, this is a gorgeous meditation on what it means to be human.

• Beverly Glenn-Copeland - La Vita
• Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos 
• Brian Eno - The Big Ship
• Laurie Anderson - Coolsville 
• John Cale - Andalucia