Sharon Van Etten

Sharon Van Etten came to Brooklyn via Jersey via Tennessee via Jersey. Along the way, she sang in choirs, rejected her school’s music program, worked at an all-ages venue, trained as a sommelier, and got a full time job at a record label. She also had some bad experiences in relationships. Okay, more than some. Her second album, epic, will be released on Ba Da Bing Records this Fall. In epic, Sharon lays a romantic melancholy lining over the gravel and dirt of heartbreak, without one honest thought or feeling being spared. She sings of betrayal, obsession, egotism and all the other emotions we hate in others and recognize in ourselves. Yet, Van Etten’s grounded and clenched vocals convey the sense of hope – the notion that beauty can come out of the worst of circumstances. epic is indeed that beauty. Recorded at Minor Street Studios in Philadelphia with Brian McTear, Sharon's guitar and singing are accompanied by drums, piano, lap steel, and a trio of backing vocalists: Meg Baird (Espers), Cat Martino and Jessica Larrabee (She Keeps Bees). The result is a fully realized album that astounds as it elucidates, disturbs as it soothes. The final track, “Lo... more...