Raised in St. Louis, Missouri and later relocating to Chicago, Illinois, indie-folk singer/songwriter Angel Olsen began performing in St. Louis coffee shops in her teenage years, eventually branching out and tapping into a network of like-minded artists. Olsen worked with Californian musician Emmet Kelly as part of his collective the Cairo Gang, singing harmonies on Bonnie "Prince" Billy's 2010 album The Wonder Show of the World, as well as its 2011 follow-up Wolfroy Goes to Town. In 2010, Olsen released Strange Cacti, a cassette of original Americana songs which was later reissued as a 12". 2012 saw the release of Half Way Home, a gorgeously spare album with understated arrangements and a homespun approach somewhere between '50s country crooners and her indie contemporaries.