Entertainment

Gig of the week: Angel Olsen at The Empire, Belfast, May 21

Angel Olsen returns to Belfast to play at The Empire on Sunday night
Angel Olsen returns to Belfast to play at The Empire on Sunday night Angel Olsen returns to Belfast to play at The Empire on Sunday night

AMERICAN indie favourite Angel Olsen returns to Belfast for a Sunday night show at The Empire. It's been nearly three years since the St Louis-born North Carolina-based singer/guitarist last graced us with her considerable presence, during which time she released her acclaimed new album My Woman.

Olsen's third and most unpredictably progressive album to date, the full band backed disc boasts a pointedly varied sound from the stripped-down piano 'n' vox confessional of closing track Pops to the grungy guitar pop of Shut Up Kiss Me, synth-based Intern and psychedelic rocker Not Gonna Kill You.

Most of its songs sound like the work of a totally different artist than the one who created the downbeat lo-fi folk of her solo debut, Half-Way Home, though her unmistakable country singer-ish croon and haunting, dreamlike lyrical bent offer long-time listeners a sonic throughline.

Live, Angel and her band are nothing but a good time – even when they do the sad numbers.

Support on the night comes courtesy of Ought man Tim Darcy.

:: Tickets £15 via Ticketmaster outlets.