I was somewhere traveling, says Olsen, stopped for a few days and wandering the city, and I was thinking ‘what does ‘forever really mean? What are the things I m seeking in friendship or love, and how can ‘forever be attainable if we re always changing? Sitting with the reality of that entropy, Olsen realized maybe the secret to ongoing love is to embrace change as part of love itself, that forever must have something to do with playing, looking, constantly searching things out for yourself, never letting yourself think you re finished learning or exploring. Forever, adds Olsen, remains curious while trying also to be kind and honest.

All this packs into the four precious songs that comprise Forever Means, songs from Olsen s roads traveled and the ones ahead. Nothing s free like breaking free Olsen sings, comfortable with the costs of her clarity, her heart and voice fixed on the present, the future, the not-yet-known and the beautifully unknowable.