Sharon Van Etten – Tramp

Rating: ★★★★☆

“We’re alright, we’re alright” sweeping over a slow moving beat and creeping along with wailing guitars screams as the farthest thing from being actually alright. Accompanied by Zach Condon of Beirut, “We Are Fine,” the eighth track on Tramp comes across as a bold statement of purpose for this album and Sharon Van Etten’s style itself—pushing through while exploring the emotional turmoil that perhaps plagues this songstress and perhaps plagues us all at some point or another. Tramp is yet another staple of this exploration for Van Etten, whose raspy voice is power, often made grim by the words that are carried by it, and haunting in itself.

The album begins at “Warsaw,” which is by far the most jangly/garage rock number on this release. Squalling guitar brings you in at its crawling pace, and then Van Etten’s voice makes its first appearance. Juxtaposed against the raw instruments, the vocals appear at their sweetest here and it isn’t until the next song that you can really grasp the true force behind them. Second up is “Give Out,” on which the focus is transferred to the voice that sails above the guitar and minimalist percussion, and is yet tethered to the music by its deep resonant force. When Van Etten belts “you’re the reason why I’ll move to the city,” she reaches a sinisterly arching, skin crawling tone that oozes strength amidst destruction.

After this powerful track, “Serpents,” the lead single from Tramp gets its bitter say in its own chilling notes. More prominent percussion and borderline angry vocals command this song, driving it into corners and then letting it all go. Here is where essentially my only qualm with this record can be found: song placement. The first three songs are all brilliant and supremely gripping in their strength and boldness, and then the fourth song immediately drops from outward reflection to inward contemplation. All of the caustic and edginess is lost and Van Etten turns to a softer, more acoustic sound, which carries through the middle portion of the album and may have some differing reactions by listeners. Some may find this breakdown alluring in its real nature, and others may find it weak.

She does not end on a meek note, however, and brings back the power on songs aforementioned like “We Are Fine,” that stretch the vocals to boil and “Magic Chords,” which strikes the same fancy as the first few tracks on Tramp. It is a devastatingly beautiful number, and the same can be said for the whole album. You are transfigured by the sorrow found in Van Etten’s voice, and held down by its overwhelming strength.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sharon_Van_Etten_-_Serpents.mp3]

Download:Sharon Van Etten – Serpents [MP3]

New Music from Sharon Van Etten

I know Turkey Day is drawing near, but there’s still some great music leaking out today, so I’m going to try and stay on top of it.  This new track from Sharon Van Etten has me really excited, and not just because it features members of The National, Walkmen and Wye Oak; it’s because I’ve got a bit of a crush on Sharon…and her music too! The songstress has a new album coming out titled Tramp, which will be released on Jagjaguwar on February 7th.  This song’s got a nice little cascading guitar line cutting through the rhythm guitar, and Van Etten’s voice sounds every bit as beautiful as I remember it in the live setting.  This is shaping up to be a good 2012 already.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sharon_Van_Etten_-_Serpents.mp3]

Download: Sharon Van Etten – Serpents [MP3]

New Reworking by Sharon Van Etten & Glass Ghost

After SXSW we raved and raved about Sharon Van Etten; the combination of beauty in appearance and voice just floored us.  Looking around the net yesterday I came across this amazing gem over at Westerny Vinyl, which is a reworking of Glass Ghost‘s “Like a Diamond” with Sharon singing the vocals.  Originally the song came out in 09’ on Idol Omen, but this reworking is incredible (not that the original wasn’t).  Sharon’s vocal delivery here is exactly the reason we came to fall for her, contrasted perfectly with stark instrumentation from Glass Ghost. What a perfect track .

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/WV91.LAD_.mp3]

Download: Glass Ghost (ft. Sharon Van Etten) – Like a Diamond [MP3]

Top Ten SXSW Artists

It has taken us just about a week to come to a reasonable consensus about who we loved the most during SXSW.  We compiled our lists based on individual preferences and tried to give you a broad range of acts, so now you can consider our SXSW coverage complete with our list of the ten best bands we saw.

Read more

New Music From Sharon Van Etten

I’v really been enjoying this track “Love More” by Sharon Van Etten over the last few days so I wanted to share it with you guys.  The song already appeared on a 7″ single back in February, but will also appear on the songwriters new album Epic.  You can get your hands on the new sophomore album from Sharon on October 5th via Ba Da Bing Records.  You can have a listen to more of her music over on myspace.

[audio: https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/LoveMore.mp3]

Download: Sharon Van Etten – Love More [MP3]

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