Sharon Van Etten

It’s a rare occurrence when a song has the ability to stop you in your tracks. But this is the situation I found myself in when preparing for this assignment, listening to Sharon Van Etten’s sophomore LP Epic. The last track on the album, “Love More,” doesn’t necessarily have all the trappings of a knockout track - no rushing strings, no show-stopping climax. The song is a single keyboard drone with light guitar and a single voice. As the chorus hits and Sharon repeats, “and it made love, and it made me love...”, she finds that point where the vocal melody, harmonies, instrumentation, and lyrics melt together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. In this simple chant, we feel Sharon’s experience without being explicitly told what it is. Her voice draws us in and demands that we just listen.

Sharon Van Etten is a singer-songwriter that has only been releasing music since 2009, but has steadily gained a dedicated following. Her first album, Because I Was in Love highlighted her unique voice, a voice capable of a powerful intimacy that could express pain and grit, hurt and resilience. 2010’s Epic expanded upon Van Etten’s acoustic folk foundations with more polished production, After signing to Sub Pop, this year’s Tramp is an even bigger artistic leap for Sharon Van Etten.

Since the beginning, Van Etten has really been an “artist’s artist.” She’s worked early slots at festivals, opened for bigger artists, and had her song “Love More” covered by Bon Iver. Working the grind has paid off for Sharon, as she’s earned friends and admirers throughout the music business - this is especially evident when looking through the liner notes of Tramp. Aaron Dessner of The National produced the album and it also features collaborations with Zach Condon of Beirut, Jenn Wassner of Wye Oak, and Julianna Barwick. While being associated with The National and Beirut might bring some new listeners into the fold, Van Etten is a unique artist who is ready for her own time in the spotlight. On second thought, she might already be there - recent profiles in the New York Times, Paste, and NPR have built considerable buzz around Van Etten and Tramp.

After hearing so much about how Van Etten’s new album was going to be great, actually listening to Tramp does not disappoint. It has the feeling of a breakout album - it satisfies fans of her previous albums, but simply put, there’s more there. Opening track “Warsaw” maintains Sharon’s signature sound of atmospheric guitar-jangle and haunting vocals, but adds an insistent tom beat and jagged electric-guitar punches that propel the song forward. This is a good example of an artist effectively utilizing a larger recording budget. Van Etten doesn’t compromise any of the authenticity evident in her more lo-fi recordings, but she’s driving a nicer car and knows what to do with it.

Lead single “Serpents” perhaps shows the clearest artistic evolution. Serpents is a straight-up rock song. While we may associate meaningful lyrics with coffee-shop acoustic guitar sounds, this style of music is a much better vehicle for Van Etten to express the sentiments of “Serpents”. As the band crescendos into the chorus, Van Etten sings,

You hold the mirror to everybody else.
Serpents in my mind, trying to forgive your cries.
Everyone changes in time. I will be changing, this time.

We feel it in her voice and in the instruments - Sharon’s pissed. Her lover pleads for forgiveness, but she’s the one walking away.

It’s always exciting when we get the opportunity to watch artists in their prime. Sharon Van Etten may continue to climb higher, but right now we’re witnessing an evolving, challenging, and confident musician.

- Dan Hofman